FCC OK's buyout of BellSouth by AT&T

By SCOTT LEITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

12/29/06

AT&T completed its purchase of BellSouth Friday afternoon, putting one of Atlanta's best-known companies under new ownership.

The long-expected deal, which most recently featured a battle among regulators in Washington, ranks as the largest business acquisition in the world this year and largest in the history of Georgia, with a final value of about $87 billion in stock. Counting another $18.2 billion in BellSouth debt that AT&T acquired as part of the process, the transaction is valued at staggering total of around $105 billion.

In the end, approval came as the Federal Communications Commission voted 4-0 to allow the deal, albeit with a number of conditions. With that, AT&T and BellSouth completed the deal by getting a formal signoff at the Georgia secretary of state's office at 4:52 p.m.

It will take weeks, if not far longer, to fully grasp the entire impact of the merger, whether for the telecom industry or for the Southeastern region BellSouth serves.

Georgia will feel the impact more than anywhere else. Atlanta no longer will serve as BellSouth's headquarters, as the city is relegated to being merely a big hub for San Antonio-based AT&T. BellSouth's name will disappear, as will that of sibling company Cingular Wireless, which until now has been a joint venture of AT&T and BellSouth.

AT&T, as the former SBC Communications is now known, has quickly leaped in stature. In late 2005, SBC bought the old AT&T and adopted the more famous AT&T name.

Some experts predicted a BellSouth deal was then all but inevitable, given that AT&T wants to own all of strong-growing Cingular and because BellSouth's territories fit so well with the rest of AT&T's network. The company provides service ranging from Florida to California, including much of the Southwest and Midwest.

Rush to close the deal

The deal came to a somewhat surprising close this year, given that many expected the process to last into January. After days of sometimes frenetic activity, regulators at the Federal Communications Commission hammered out a compromise to approve the merger unanimously.

There was much wrangling between the FCC's Democrats and Republicans. The FCC had once been expected to sign-off on the deal in mid October, but partisan disagreements led to a stalemate that dragged into December. The process was jump-started Dec. 18, after a Republican member who could have broken the tie vote declined to participate, citing a conflict of interest.

With that move, the commission's Republicans and Democrats had no choice but to resume talks. AT&T, meanwhile, agreed to bend enough to win approval

Yep. Looks like Ma Bell is trying to come back a bit (but not totally). With what they are getting the innovation would/could be very interesting.