After a two-year wait, a US federal judge has cleared T-Mobile’s $59bn acquisition of Sprint, putting no conditions on the merger.
An ecstatic John Léger, Chief Executive Officer of T-Mobile said “Today was a huge victory for this merger … and now we are FINALLY able to focus on the last steps to get this merger done! We want to thank the Court for its thorough review of the facts we presented in our case. We’ve said it all along: the New T-Mobile will be a supercharged Un-carrier that is great for consumers and great for competition. The broad and deep 5G network that only our combined companies will be able to bring to life is going to change wireless … and beyond. Look out Dumb and Dumber and Big Cable – we are coming for you … and you haven’t seen anything yet!”
📣ATTN: America 📣The moment we've been waiting for - we WON in Court!! The #NewTMobile is now 1️⃣ step closer to being finalized!! The new Supercharged Un-carrier will provide benefits for ALL customers & drive competition! We can't wait!🎉 key info: https://t.co/szV2VJEcxwFebruary 11, 2020
Lower-cost nationwide 5G
Sprint Executive Chairman, Marcelo Claure shared Legere’s triumphant tone saying: “Judge Marrero’s decision validates our view that this merger is in the best interests of the U.S. economy and American consumers.” “Today brings us a big step closer to creating a combined company that will provide nationwide 5G, lower costs, and a high-performing network that will invigorate competition to the benefit of all mobile wireless and in-home broadband consumers. With the support of federal regulators and now this Court, we will focus on quickly completing the few remaining necessary steps to close this transaction. I am proud of my Sprint team’s dedication, passion and resilience throughout the merger review process, and we are ready to make the vision of a New T-Mobile a reality,” he continued.
The broad and deep 5G network that only our combined companies will be able to bring to life is going to change wireless … and beyond
John Léger, T-Mobile
Final Court Ruling
The decision to allow the takeover has taken two years to reach final approval due to multiple Democratic-led states suing to block the deal – they argued it was anticompetitive and would cause customers to pay move for its services, including 5G phones.
Judge Victor Marrero had been upersuaded by these arguments, saying: “T-Mobile has redefined itself over the past decade as a maverick that has spurred the two largest players in its industry to make numerous pro-consumer changes. The proposed merger would allow the merged company to continue T-Mobile’s undeniably successful business strategy for the foreseeable future,” stated the New York Court.
allow the merged company to continue T-Mobile’s undeniably successful business strategy
Judge Victor Marrero
Judge Victor Marrero had been unpersuaded by these arguments, saying: “T-Mobile has redefined itself over the past decade as a maverick that has spurred the two largest players in its industry to make numerous pro-consumer changes. The proposed merger would allow the merged company to continue T-Mobile’s undeniably successful business strategy for the foreseeable future,” stated the New York Court.
Judge Marrero’s reasoning included that without the merger Sprint, the current fourth-place player in the US telecomms market, could survive as an independent competitive force. “The overwhelming view within Sprint and in the wider industry is that Sprint is falling farther short of the targets it must hit to remain relevant as a significant competitor,” he ruled.
Unlike Sprint, T-Mobile’s profits have soared – last week the technology giant beat analysts’ estimates as revenue rose to $11.88 billion from $11.45 billion, surpassing analysts’ average estimate of $11.83 billion, according to data from Refinitiv.
New T-Mobile
The New T-Mobile will facilitate the US’s first transformational nationwide 5G network and services. The company say that “will supercharge innovation throughout the U.S. economy, connect people throughout the country and help bridge the Digital Divide. With speeds up to 5x faster than current LTE in just a few years and reaching as much as 15x faster by 2024, New T-Mobile’s 5G network will change the way consumers think about and use the Internet.”
The new T-Mobile also plans to deploy a higher quality and more stable 5G network across rural America. The company also promises “better service and lower prices for all Americans”. In a press statement the company stated its commitment to delivering the same or better rate plans at the same or better prices for three years - and that includes 5G. “With 14X more total capacity in 2024 than standalone T-Mobile has today, the New T-Mobile’s 5G network will bring down the cost of delivering a gigabyte of data, providing enormous economic incentives for the New T-Mobile to lower prices.”
T-Mobile 5G network was launched in December 2019 and the company now says it covers more than 200 million people nationwide. This merger will allow T-Mobile to continue to grow its 5G network considerably.
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