The Department of Justice has cleared AT&T's acquisition of rural cellular carrier Dobson for $2.8 billion. AT&T agreed to buy Oklahoma-based Dobson in June of this year. Dobson claims to serve more than 1.5 million wireless customers. The DOJ approved the acquisition as long as AT&T divests itself from a portion of Dobson's customer base in parts of Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Texas. Neither carrier nor the DOJ disclosed how many Dobson customers AT&T would lose as a result of the condition.
The AT&T-Dobson acquisition occurred during a string of carrier consolidation in the U.S. that saw Verizon Wireless buy RCC, too.
For more on the deal:
- read this press release [1]
Related articles:
AT&T buys Dobson in a deal worth $5.1B. Report [2]
Next up for sale, Dobson? Article [3]
Links:
[1] http://www.fiercewireless.com/press-releases/doj-clears-t-dobson-deal
[2] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/t-buys-dobson-deal-worth-5-1b/2007-07-02
[3] http://www.fiercewireless.com/story/next-sale-dobson/2007-06-26