We covered the proposed AT&T T-Mobile merger here; see that post for the dirty details and all the reasons not to allow this deal to proceed.
Which makes this announcement, per the New York Times, troubling:
The federal judge overseeing the case against AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA has asked both sides to discuss the prospects of a settlement on Sept. 21. ... The Justice Department filed its lawsuit on Aug. 31, saying that the acquisition of T-Mobile would “remove a significant competitive force from the market,” which would shrink to three big telecommunications providers from four. ...I don't think the problem is that the judge is asking the parties — the Justice Dept. on one hand, the corporate behemoths on the other — to discuss a pre-trial settlement. To my ignorant legal mind, it sounds like she's doing her job.
While the government’s criticism of the deal was harsh, officials have also suggested that there was room to negotiate.
But note the willingness of the Justice Dept. to "negotiate." Acting assistant AG Sharis Pozen said on August 31, "[O]ur door is open."
What's to negotiate? The market is already too consolidated, in that interesting "restraint of trade" sense. The only negotiation my cynical mind can imagine is the size of the reward for a "sure, go right ahead" ruling. We'll see.
GP
