AT&T's Chief Pays for Big Deal's Failure

AT&T's failed $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA cost the telecommunications giant $4 billion in assets and cash. It also cost Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.

AT&T ‘s board cut Stephenson's combined short- and long-term incentive payout by more than $2 million, due in part to the implosion of the deal. The company walked away from the offer in December amid regulatory resistance. Combined with a reduction in his stock option awards and the value of his pension and deferred compensation, Stephenson's total pay package fell to $22.02 million last year, from $27.34 million a year earlier. The move was the first sign of any internal fallout from the failed deal.