WASHINGTON (AP) — AT&T Inc. and two of its rivals have agreed to postpone their lawsuits over AT&T’s acquisition of T-Mobile USA now that the $39 billion deal is in jeopardy.
A federal judge quickly approved motions filed jointly Tuesday morning by AT&T and Sprint Nextel Corp., the third-largest U.S. cell phone company, and a smaller phone company, C Spire Wireless, to cancel proceedings in their suits to stop the T-Mobile deal.
On Monday, AT&T and the Justice Department agreed to cancel the antitrust trial scheduled for February while the wireless carriers determine the fate of their proposed merger, which has come under increasing government criticism that it would reduce competition and raise consumer prices.
Dallas-based AT&T says it is considering along with T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG of Germany whether to revise the plan to win regulatory approval.