AT&T to Buy T-Mobile for $39 Billion

The sale will create a new U.S. telecom giant and has fueled concerns of a cellphone monopoly.

The deal is good news if you’re a stockholder, but less encouraging if you’re a U.S. cellphone user. Deutsche Telekom AG’s decision to sell T-Mobile to AT&T had the German company’s stocks soaring Monday, but the deal will still have to pass muster with the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates competition in communication industries. AT&T’s acquisition, which was announced Sunday, will create a new corporate entity with 43 per cent of the U.S. market share, sparking antitrust accusations and fears over higher customer bills. Deutsche Telekom had been looking to unload T-Mobile for years because, although it has been profitable, it lacked the scale to compete with AT&T.