AT&T (T) Faces Divestitures in T-Mobile Deal

Facing scrutiny and some opposition from competitors, AT&T (NYSE:T) CEO Randall Stephenson said he expects to have to divest of some of the assets they get when they acquire T-Mobile.

Included in the divestiture will be some of the wireless spectrum and customers that come with the company.

“We anticipate there will be some markets we will have to divest,” Stephenson said.

"AT&T’s plan to buy T-Mobile from Deutsche Telekom AG for $39 billion is expected to face heavy scrutiny from regulators and opposition from consumer-advocacy groups and competitors. Rivals Sprint (NYSE:S) and Clearwire Corp. (NASDAQ:CLWR) have been vocal about the alleged harmful impact of the deal," said Marketwatch.

Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) Chief Executive Dan Mead previously said his company sees an opportunity to potentially scoop up some divested assets.

This is how Sprint and Clearwire need to view the potential transaction, not from a place of weakness where all they attempt to do is stop the deal from going forward.

AT&T was trading at $30.89, gaining $0.84, or 2.80 percent, as of 1:19 PM EDT.