Court Upholds Sale Of Mccaw To At&T;

A federal appeals court upheld on Friday a decision that permitted telecommunications giant AT&T to acquire McCaw Cellular for $11.5 billion last year.

The appellate court for the District of Columbia affirmed a decision by U.S. District Judge Harold Greene last August.

Greene, who oversees a consent decree that broke up AT&T in 1984, waived a provision in the decree, freeing AT&T to acquire McCaw, the nation’s largest cellular company.

AT&T needed the waiver because McCaw owned some cellular properties with several regional Bell companies. Under the decree, AT&T is not permitted to own Bell company assets.