The U.S. Justice Dept. wants to put the kibosh on AT&T's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile, filing a complaint in federal court on Aug. 31 saying the deal would reduce competition and violate antitrust law. The controversial merger, first announced in March, would make Dallas-based AT&T the largest mobile carrier in the U.S., displacing current market-leader Verizon and leaving Sprint a distant third. If the deal falls apart, AT&T would have to pay T-Mobile, a unit of Deutsche Telekom, a break-up fee of as much as $3 billion in cash, plus some wireless infrastructure. AT&T said it will "vigorously contest" the litigation and will ask for an expedited hearing.
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