T-Mobile and Sprint get DOJ clearance for merger

T-Mobile announced today that it has received approval from the United States Department of Justice to merge with Sprint. It will be sending off Sprint's pre-paid businesses to DISH.

Rich Woods former Senior Editor for North America Neowin @TheRichWoods · Jul 26, 2019 12:08 EDT · Hot! with 11 comments

It's been well over a year since T-Mobile and Sprint announced their intentions to merge and form New T-Mobile, which is apparently going to be the name of the new company. Today though, T-Mobile announced that it finally has a consent decree from the U.S. Department of Justice for the merger, a major milestone for the deal.

As part of the deal to forge the New T-Mobile, Sprint's prepaid businesses - including Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and Sprint's own prepaid service - will be sold off to DISH for $1.4 billion. Part of that deal also includes Sprint's 800MHz spectrum license. DISH will also be able to use the New T-Mobile's network for seven years, and the New T-Mobile will offer "standard transition services" for up to three years.

"The T-Mobile and Sprint merger we announced last April will create a bigger and bolder competitor than ever before – one that will deliver the most transformative 5G network in the country, lower prices, better quality, unmatched value and thousands of jobs, while unlocking an unprecedented $43B net present value in synergies. We are pleased that our previously announced target synergies, profitability and long-term cash generation have not changed," said T-Mobile CEO and New T-Mobile CEO John Legere.

Of course, DOJ approval is only one new milestone for the T-Mobile/Sprint merger. More regulatory approval is needed, and the two companies are expecting that to happen in Q3, with the final close in the second half of this year.