Shares in US phone firm AT&T have leapt amid reports of a possible takeover by SBC Communications.
Neither firm wanted to comment on the reports, published by several news agencies and newspapers.
But Wall Street responded, pushing AT&T's stock up 6.2% while SBC's slipped 3.7% by 1700 GMT.
Should it come about, the move would see AT&T - once a US telecoms monopoly - disappear into a firm spun off from it by antitrust officials in 1984.
Second time lucky?
Opinion remains split over whether the move would be a good idea for either firm.
AT&T remains a long-distance telecoms firm, while SBC is predominantly focused on the local market in the western US.
Each has a sizable presence in data networks as well.
MARKET VALUES
But the former monopoly's shrinking business drove BellSouth away, and now any deal would be far from a merger of equals.
Business options
Still, AT&T remains a favourite with big businesses, which would be a prize for SBC - as would the ability to sell business communication packages without having to buy in long-distance and international services from other providers.
Consolidation in the US phone business is already extensive, with the seven "Baby Bells" split off from AT&T in 1984 now reduced to three.
The merger talk remains "very, very sensitive", according to reports, and could still easily collapse.
Consumer groups were unhappy about the possible deal.
"For SBC to gobble up its original parent company would finally put much of local and long-distance competition in the grave," said Gene Kimmelman, senior director of public policy at the Consumers Union.
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