Government To Kill AT&T Deal For T-Mobile, Sprint Merger Back?

It looks like Uncle Sam has taken a stand on the buyout by AT&T (NYSE: T) of T-Mobile, which is owned by Deutsche Telekom AG (OTC: DTEGY). The biggest winner might be Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), but not far behind are Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ: CLWR), Leap Wireless International Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP), MetroPCS Communications, Inc. (NYSE: PCS), and America Movil S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE: AMX).

Bloomberg has reported that the federal government has filed an anti-trust complaint against the proposed AT&T/T-Mobile merger. That could be enough to put an end to Ma Bell’s plan for dominating the US mobile phone market.

As bad as the news is for AT&T, it’s very good news for Sprint, which is soon to begin selling the iPhone from Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) If the proposed merger were to go through, Sprint would have been left so far behind AT&T and Verizon Wireless that it would have faded into insignificance. Sprint’s once-discussed merger with T-Mobile could go back on the table again. That combination would at least give the combined company a fighting chance against AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

Now, though, AT&T is faced with a problem. It’s growth engine for the past three years, the iPhone, will be in not just one, but two competitors’ hands. And without its exclusive deal on the iPhone, AT&T could face some rough times if the T-Mobile deal is killed. What does AT&T do to post some growth now? That’s not a rhetorical question.

Shares in AT&T are off more than -3% on the news, at $28.63, in a 52-week range of $26.50-$31.94. Deutsche Telekom shares are off nearly -5%. Sprint shares are up more than 7.5%, to $3.82, in a 52-week range of $2.98-$6.45. Leap Wireless is up about 0.3%, and MetroPCS is up more than 1%. Clearwire is up nearly 7%, at $3.08, in a 52-week range of $1.32-$.82. America Movil is up nearly 3%, at $24.92, in a 52-week range of $21.86-$29.82.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), which owns 60% of Verizon Wireless, is down nearly -1% and Vodafone Group plc (NASDAQ: VOD), which owns the other 40% of Verizon Wireless, is down about -0.5%.

Sprint and Clearwire get a reprieve, and all the other mobile phone carriers get the piece of the gold mine. AT&T and Deutsche Telekom get the shaft.

Paul Ausick