When the DOJ blocked AT&T’s deal to snatch up T-Mobile, did you think Ma Bell would end up shelling out some ridiculous sum to lock things up? Well, the opposite may be the case — according to Bloomberg , the company can get a reduced rate if regulator’s requests become too pricey. A discount of sorts would be available to AT&T if the remedy to-do list surpasses 20 percent of the deal’s original $39 billion price tag (about $7.8 billion). Also of note here: the company could leave the proverbial table altogether if the concessions top the 40 percent mark, only owing a break-up penalty… and shelling out the $3 billion contingency fund to Deutsche Telekom AG. AT&T may get a discount if T-Mobile bid concessions prove too expensive originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 06 Sep 2011 22:18:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink