In 2006, AT&T acquired BellSouth for approximately $86 billion, reuniting two major pieces of the U.S. telecommunications system.
AT&T announced the transaction on March 5, 2006, and completed it on December 29. The deal was paid primarily in AT&T stock, with BellSouth shareholders receiving 1.325 AT&T shares for each BellSouth share. The final value was commonly reported as about $86 billion, although early headlines also cited roughly $67 billion based on the equity portion alone.
BellSouth was one of the seven Regional Bell Operating Companies created after the breakup of the original AT&T Bell System in 1984. The acquisition therefore represented another major consolidation of the former Bell network. It also gave AT&T full control of Cingular Wireless and Yellowpages.com, which had been joint ventures between AT&T and BellSouth.
Another source of confusion is the identity of the acquiring company. The modern AT&T had emerged after SBC Communications bought the former AT&T Corporation in 2005 and adopted the AT&T name. Thus, AT&T Inc.—corporately descended from SBC—was the company that acquired BellSouth.