AT&T Dropping Its T-Mobile Bid, Owes Billions to Deutsche Telekom - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD

This will be just the first phase of AT&T’s regret, if we next see a vendor such as Amazon, Google, or Microsoft acquire T-Mobile

AT&T will have to pay a giant breakup fee to Deutsche Telekom, as well as enter into an expanded roaming agreement. AT&T said it would take a $4 billion charge in the fourth quarter to account for the cash and spectrum owed to the German telecommunications firm. The charge reflects $3 billion in cash and the $1 billion book value of spectrum owed, though many have placed the value of the spectrum at far more than its book value.

Despite the windfall, the move still leaves Deutsche Telekom without an exit plan for its U.S. holdings, and leaves T-Mobile without a clear path to offer higher-speed LTE service.

AT&T Dropping Its T-Mobile Bid, Owes Billions to Deutsche Telekom - Ina Fried - Mobile - AllThingsD