On 13 October 2009, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a proposed settlement requiring AT&T Inc. (AT&T) to divest assets in eight cellular marketing areas in Louisiana and Mississippi in order to close its proposed acquisition of Centennial Communications Corp. (Centennial). According to the DOJ, without these divestitures, the proposed transaction would substantially lessen competition and likely would result in higher prices, lower quality, and reduced network investments. On the day the settlement was announced, the DOJ and the Attorney General of Louisiana filed a civil lawsuit in the US District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the proposed acquisition under the Clayton Act. At the same time, they filed a proposed final judgment that, if approved by the court, would eliminate the alleged anti-competitive effects resulting from the proposed acquisition.