BellSouth and AT&T abandoned discussions aimed at cementing a planned merger yesterday, less than a week after resuming talks, according to published reports.
Executives at Atlanta-based BellSouth told their AT&T counterparts that they were giving up on efforts to merge the two telecoms, sources close to the talks told the Financial Times.
The firms have been struggling to staunch a flow of customers to wireless and local providers. The breakdown is seen as a setback for investors, who have been pushing for consolidation, the paper notes.