Way back when the Baby Bells were spun off from AT&T Corp, Pacific Telesis Group Inc was regarded as having much the toughest row to hoe because the California regulatory authorities are traditionally so much more hostile to business than any other in the US, and SBC Communications Inc was being very brave when it picked Pacific Telesis as its preferred acquisition partner. Now that deal could be in jeopardy because of a California state proposal to require SBC to pay customers $750m and agree to other restrictions. This is a shocker, said James Ellis, SBC’s general counsel, adding This clearly, clearly puts this merger at risk.
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