The U.S. Justice Department is reportedly “leaning against” approving T-Mobile US Inc.’s proposed merger with Sprint.
Bloomberg reports that “according to a person familiar with the review,” the merger between the number three and four U.S. wireless carriers might not be approved because the two companies “don’t go far enough” to resolve antitrust concerns raised by the U.S. government.
The report comes closely on the heels of United States Federal Communications Chairman Ajit Pai saying that he would recommend approval of the merger.
Recently, T-Mobile and Sprint have made new efforts to sway the DOJ by proposing changes to their merger, including the sale of Boost Mobile, a 3-year buildout of a combines 5G network, and a pledge to not raise prices during the network buildout. Apparently the steps were not sufficient to get the DOJ to see things the carriers’ way.
Sprint and T-Mobile originally announced the merger in April 2018, but the deal requires government approval. The combined carrier would have close to 100 million customers, making it the #2 US. carrier. The new company would carry the T-Mobile moniker.
