MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND SCIENCE OF RUSSIAN FEDERATION
FEDERAL STATE INSTITUTION OF HIGHER EDUCATION
PLEKHANOV RUSSIAN UNIVERSITY OF ECONOMICS
Faculty International business school & global economics
Specialization Economics
Master’s Degree Program International corporate finance (in English)
Case study
« THE BELL SOUTH CASE»
Written by:
Anisimov Vadim
Professor (addressee):
Zubkova Elena Vitaljevna
Moscow
2021
I. SUMMARY
After the Justice Department's 1982 decision, AT&T's individual operating
subsidiaries would soon become independent companies. The breakup of AT&T
resulted in the operating companies being regrouped into seven corporations
responsible for providing local telephone service in seven areas of the United States.
Until 1984, each operating company functioned only as a division of a national
company, and each division made decisions only about the telephone service in its
area. Now each operating company, like South Bell, must make all decisions by
themselves, for example, how should a South Bell finance its business activities.
II. THE PROBLEM
Choosing a eurocurrency market for financing South Bell's major capital project may
be unprofitable compared to the domestic market.
III. CAST OF CHARACTERS
a.
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b.
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People
Danielle Green–treasury manager for Bell South;
Consultant – me.
Institutions
AT&T- American Telephone & Telegraph, the national telephone company in USA;
Southern Bell- the company that actually provided telephone service in twenty-two
regions of the United States.
Bell Labs– research division;
Western Electric– equipment manufacturing division;
AT&T Information System– data-processing- division;
The U.S. Justice Department – regulator of rules of the Foreign Corrupt Practices
Act.
North Carolina National Bank – a domestic bank in USA.
IV. CHRONOLOGY
 1983 - One of the first priorities established by Bell South's senior management was
to initiate a research programme with a laboratory facility in either Raleigh, North
Carolina, or Melbourne, Florida.
 Before 1984 - each operating- company functioned just as a division of the national
company.
 January 1, 1984 - the national telephone company, American Telephone &
Telegraph (AT&T), was forced to sell its operating- telephone subsidiaries.