AT&T hacks at debt mountain

The company is to sell its cable systems in four US states to cable television company Mediacom, making the latter 840,000 customers bigger and consequently the eighth largest cable television operator in the US.

The move takes an unwanted slice off AT&T Broadband, which is due to be floated in September as part of AT&T's attempts to reinvent itself and cut its $55bn debt burden.

The deal follows hot on the heels of AT&T's agreement, confirmed today, to sell its 10 per cent stake in Japan Telecom to Vodafone for $1.35bn. The telco is also hoping to get up to $10bn from the sale of its stake in AOL Time Warner's cable division.

If the pace of disposals continues, AT&T's debt decrease will pass BT's on the rise - BT's debt is expected to reach £30bn by the end of March.