AT&T, Justice agree to postpone case as companies scramble to salvage deal

AT&T and T-Mobile asked District Court Judge Ellen Huvelle to postpone an antitrust lawsuit as the companies were assessing “whether and how” to proceed with their $39 billion mega-merger.

Judge Huvelle agreed to the companies’ request and ordered AT&T to give the court an update on the proceeding on Jan 12. All parties in the case are scheduled for an update on Jan 18. She had revealed last week that she was skeptical of AT&T’s strategy. The announcement signals that the deal as originally conceived is all but dead. The two companies could still seek ways to retool the terms to address the concerns of regulators. The decision comes after Washington regulators from two agencies — the Justice Department and the Federal Communications Commission — sought to block the deal, saying it could lead to higher prices for consumers and stifle competition. The union would have combined the second- and fourth-largest wireless providers.

"AT&T is committed to working with Deutsche Telekom to find a solution that is in the best interests of our respective customers, shareholders and employees,” AT&T said in a statement. “We are actively considering whether and how to revise our current transaction to achieve the necessary regulatory approvals so that we can deliver the capacity enhancements and improved customer service that can only be derived from combining our two companies' wireless assets."