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Oct. 14, 2009

AT&T says it has reached an agreement with the Justice Department and the Louisiana Attorney General to dispose of certain assets in 8 distincts markets in Louisiana and Mississippi.

The decision will help AT&T with its proposed $944 million acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp.

The Justice Department said it is requiring AT&T to divest Centennial assets in southwestern and central Louisiana and southwestern Mississippi in order to preserve wireless competition in those specific markets.

No other details were given. Dallas-based AT&T expects the deal to close in mid-November.

The FCC is continuing to review the wireless merger, which was announced in Dec. 2008.

Under the terms of the acquisition, Centennial stockholders will receive $8.50 per share in cash.

Centennial Communications has about 1.1 million wireless subscribers in 6 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

Late yesterday, Centennial reported income of $19.5 million, or 17 cents per share, on $258.9 million in revenue for its fiscal 2010 first quarter, which ended in August.

Centennial's shares rose 41 cents, or 5.1 percent, to close at $8.39 yesterday. AT&T's shares rose 30 cents to $25.90.

After Verizon Wireless, AT&T is the second largest wireless carrier in the U.S., with nearly 80 million mobile subscribers nationwide.

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Source: AT&T.