"While the VoiceStream and Powertel transaction remain subject to further regulatory approvals, we have completed another important milestone today," said Ron Sommer, CEO of the German company. "The combination of these three companies will create the first and only transatlantic provider of mobile services based on the digital GSM standard. Together, we will be able to offer seamless services over a common technology platform and provide customer-friendly features, such as global roaming, unified billing, and worldwide customer service."

With a significant decline in Deutsche Telekom’s stock in the past few months, the deal’s value has been slashed from $50.7-billion to $23.9-billion.

Besides U.S. shareholder approval, the deal has received clearance from U.S. antitrust authorities and has struck a deal with law enforcement agencies to ensure their ability to legally authorize surveillance of certain calls, Reuters reported.

But the deal is not final yet. Under current U.S. law, the FCC has the authority to block foreign telecommunication companies that are more than 25 percent state-owned from acquiring an American company if the deal is not deemed to be in the public interest.

Some of the hurdles the proposed merger must face.

• Receive approval from the U.S. FCC.
• A review of national security issues by the Committee on Foreign Investments in the U.S.
• The German Government has publicly pledged to eliminate its stake in the telecom company, but has not yet done so.

According to commentators, the deal will continue to be played out over the next two months. Stay tune.