The board of directors at the company noted the pay cut was directly tied to the takeover attempt and its expensive fallout.
Because of the failed takeover, AT&T had to pay a $3 billion breakup fee (the largest ever) to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, and give a large package of mobile communications spectrum and a long-term agreement on UMTS roaming within the U.S. for T-Mobile USA, all of which was worth about $1 billion.
AT&T had bid $39 billion to try to acquire T-Mobile, which is the fourth largest carrier in the United States and the only other major to use GSM networks. Late last year, however, the FCC and Department of Justice blocked the deal, citing anti-trust issues. Had the deal gone through, most believe the U.S. wireless world would have become a duopoly controlled by AT&T and Verizon. Sprint, the third largest carrier in the nation, was a vocal opponent of the deal, which likely would have seen them squeezed out of the picture.
Even with the price cut, Stephenson still took home $22 million between his base salary, incentives and stock/option compensation. The CEO made $27 million in 2010.
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 22 Feb 2012 19:19
