As you may have heard this weekend, AT&T announced it has placed a bid for BellSouth for $67 billion. The joint telecommunications provider would have nationwide long distance and data services and would provide residential phone service in 22 states. At the close of the deal, all landline and wireless businesses would be under the AT&T brand, which if everything goes according to AT&T's plan should be completed within the next year. Also, if this merger goes through, four of the seven "Baby Bells" that were split apart from the original AT&T, namely Ameritech, Southwestern Bell, Pacific Telesis and BellSouth, will be reunited with AT&T.
The possible buyout answers the question of what to do with Cingular Wireless, the largest wireless telephone provider, which had been jointly owned by both AT&T and BellSouth. Cingular will finally be under one parent company, which undoubtedly will streamline its management and processes. As this situation is developing, I will keep you updated. Read this article to find out more about AT&T's BellSouth buyout.
