SBC Communications Inc is in talks to acquire AT&T Corp to bolster its business among large corporations, a source familiar with the talks said on Thursday. SBC, the No 2 US telecommunications company, is interested in AT&T's raft of corporate clients and international network, the source said. AT&T, the largest US long-distance company, has been suffering from increasing competition from SBC and other dominant local carriers.
Spokesmen for SBC and AT&T declined to comment. The talks, first reported in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, were described as sensitive and could collapse.
AT&T had a market value of $14.7 billion based on Wednesday's closing share price. Its shares were up 7 percent in pre-market trading, while SBC shares were down 1.8 percent.
The SBC-AT&T talks come after a rough year for AT&T, which included 14,000 job cuts, a $11.4 billion write-down in its assets, and a 11.6 percent drop in full-year revenue.