D.O.J. Requires Divestitures for AT&T's Acquisition of Centennial

The U.S. Department of Justice will require AT&T to divest assets in eight areas in Louisiana and Mississippi in order to proceed with its $944 million acquisition of Centennial Communications. The DOJ found that the acquisition, as originally proposed, would substantially lessen competition to the detriment of consumers of mobile wireless telecommunications services in those areas, and likely would result in higher prices, lower quality and reduced network investments. The divestitures cover portions of southwestern and central Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi.


Centennial has 1.1 million wireless subscribers and serves largely rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast United States and in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.


"We are pleased with the Department of Justice's decision and see it as an important step toward closing our acquisition of Centennial," said Wayne Watts, Senior Executive Vice President and General Counsel, AT&T Inc. "The combination of AT&T and Centennial will bring together two complementary wireless businesses and will produce meaningful benefits for customers of both companies."http://www.usdoj.govhttp://www.att.com