LET’S MAKE A DEAL

AT&T to Buy T-Mobile USA

For $39 billion.

AT&T just swallowed up 46.5 million more customers: The mobile giant announced Sunday an agreement to buy T-Mobile USA for a whopping $39 billion in cash and stock, making the transaction one of the biggest mergers since the financial crisis. T-Mobile USA had been struggling along as the nation’s smallest major cellphone service, and the AT&T offer will finally allow the company to move forward with the 4G technology that its competitors have been using. T-Mobile USA was previously owned by Deutsche Telekom, which will acquire an 8 percent stake in AT&T through the deal. “This transaction represents a major commitment to strengthen and expand critical infrastructure for our nation’s future,” said AT&T Chief Executive Randall Stephenson.