T-Mobile, Sprint executives to defend $26.5 billion merger before House panels
The top executives at T-Mobile and Sprint will defend their $26.5 billion merger before two House panels in February.
Sprint Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure and CEO John Legere will testify at a joint hearing – tentatively scheduled for Feb. 13 -- between the House Judiciary Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee, the panels said on Monday.
“We must hold this hearing to examine the effects on important issues like jobs, costs to consumers, innovation and competition,” said Democratic Chairmen Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Jerrold Nadler of New York, along with respective subcommittee chairmen Mike Doyle of Pennsylvania and David Cicilline of Rhode Island.
Claure and Legere testified on the merger last year in front of the Senate’s antitrust panel.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TMUS | T-MOBILE US INC. | 164.57 | -0.34 | -0.21% |
| S | SENTINELONE INC | 21.25 | -0.25 | -1.16% |
The Department of Justice continues to review the transaction, but T-Mobile and Sprint -- the third-and-fourth largest U.S. carriers, respectively -- reportedly won clearance from a key U.S. national security panel in December. The companies are hoping to close the deal in the first half of 2019.
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Critics of the transaction say it could raise costs for consumers, since it would consolidate the wireless industry to only three top companies. T-Mobile and Sprint say the deal is necessary so the firms can continue to compete against rivals Verizon Wireless and AT&T.