SBC & AT&T: A Merger of Disappointment with Disaster?

Kathleen Pender:

What happens if you merge a disappointment with a disaster?

You get SBC-AT&T.

In most corporate mergers, the shareholders of at least one company rejoice. But it’s hard to find a clear winner in the proposed acquisition of AT&T by SBC Communications.

AT&T, the nation’s once-proud phone monopoly, is a shadow of its former self. It lost $6.1 billion last year, and its sales have shrunk for five consecutive years as it has shed most of its operations except for business services. Its stock has fallen by almost 72 percent during the past five years.

I have a hard time seeing much good coming from this, other than a more concentrated lobby machine which ultimately works against the public…