AT&T may propose to divest as much as 40% of T-Mobile USA’s assets in an effort to win approval from the Department of Justice in an upcoming lawsuit against the government agency. The DOJ sued to block the merger on August 31st, when it said “AT&T’s elimination of T-Mobile as an independent, low-priced rival would remove a significant competitive force from the market.” AT&T is planning to divest a lower percentage of spectrum and a higher share of T-Mobile USA’s c...

Sprint is openly opposed to AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile, but the scrappy carrier stands to benefit from the deal according to Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Larsen. Larsen on Friday lifted his rating on Sprint stock from neutral to overweight, while also upping his price target from $5 to $6.50. The analyst sees brighter days ahead for the carrier through the rest of 2011 and 2012 as well, and he also believes the AT&T / T-Mobile deal could be a good thing for Sprint. ...

Reuters is reporting that AOL, Inc. is contemplating a breakup through “a complicated series of transactions” that could end in a merger with search giant Yahoo!. The publication is citing “sources close to the plans” and adds that “the latest discussions derive from plans contemplated in 2008 and 2009 before Time Warner spun off AOL to Time Warner shareholders.” Both AOL and Yahoo! declined to comment on the report when contacted by Reuters; AOL’s stock price rose sl...

It seems like it was just yesterday, but one year has passed since AT&T and Verizon agreed to a $2.35 billion deal which would provide the former with select assets in 18 states and covering 1.5 million subscribers. Unfortunately for the two, the FCC had a lot on its plate at the time the deal was struck and the sale has been stuck in a regulatory holding pattern ever since. Now it finally looks like the FCC may be ready to approve the deal, as FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski sent an order asking that th...

As part of the Alltel merger, Verizon Wireless was required to divest nearly $3 billion in wireless assets as shown in the dark blue and red areas in the map above. According to the Wall Street Journal, AT&T is rumored to be one of three interested parties seeking to scoop up these soon-to-be-available markets. Other potential buyers include Providence Equity Partners LLC and a joint venture that includes the private-equity firms of Carlyle Group CYL.UL and Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts & Co. Because ...