AT&T Wireless, Cingular in merger talks

[Robert Levy]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3955888&p1=0' target='_blank'>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/Default.aspx?id=3955888&p1=0</a><br /><br /></div>"Cingular Wireless's interest in acquiring AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has intensified and it has the backing of its two parent companies to fund a purchase, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.<br /> <br />There is no formal offer on the table, but the negotiations between Cingular and AT&T Wireless, respectively the No. 2 and No. 3 U.S. carriers, have progressed significantly beyond the on-again-off-again talks over the past year, the sources said."<br /><br />Looks like those who guessed AT&T and Cingular is <a href="http://www.smartphonethoughts.com/index.php?topic_id=4694&sid">David's poll</a> may end up being right!

[swbuehler]

"Cingular Wireless's interest in acquiring AT&T Wireless Services Inc. has intensified and it has the backing of its two parent companies to fund a purchase, sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.

Not a surprise. There are six major national carriers and numerous regional ones and a consolidation is long overdue.

SWB

[markpmc]

I thought that it'd be the other way around. AT&T buying Cingular.

[swbuehler]

I thought that it'd be the other way around. AT&T buying Cingular.

SBC and BellSouth, the joint venture partners in Cingular, individually, have nearly twice the market valuation of AT&T. Both have talked to AT&T in the past about buying AT&T, but the regulatory hurdles would be too high at this point.

Since Cingular has expressed interest, NTT DoCoMo and Nextel have also started asking questions, but Cingular would probably be the best fit (Cingular and AT&T use practically the same devices and have similar networks, while Nextel has its own proprietary network).