“Fleas of a thousand dogs” add gravitas to T-Mobile/Sprint merger as court challenge wraps up

15 January 2020 by Steve Blum
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Dog scratch

T-Mobile and Sprint square off today against a coalition of state attorneys general in a federal courtroom in New York, during closing arguments in a trial to determine whether their proposed merger violates antitrust laws. It’s one of the last hurdles for the deal, which has been under regulatory review since 2018.

Approval (or not) by the California Public Utilities Commission is also pending, as is a separate, more technical federal court review in Washington, D.C.

“We are desperately waiting for the outcome of our merger activities”, Jan Geldmacher, president of Sprint’s business to business division said at CES in Las Vegas last week. Nonetheless, he believes “a positive end is near”.

He backed his optimism up with a New Year’s greeting, perhaps in the hope of persuading opponents of the righteousness of his cause. “May the fleas of a thousand dogs infest the arse of anyone who fucks up your new year”, he said. “And may their arms be too short to scratch it”.

The AGs and the deal’s Californian opponents will risk that itch, but the federal justice department won’t. It urged federal judge Victor Marrero to defer to its wisdom and approve the deal. In arguments filed last week, the AGs said they have a say in the matter and, particularly, so does the judge…

The States have a special role in enforcing the antitrust laws on behalf of the public. TheSupreme Court has made clear that neither the States nor this Court need defer to the federal government’s approval of a merger. The States are independent enforcers of the antitrust laws, and it is the role of the Court—not any federal agency—to decide the lawfulness of the merger.

The AG’s latest (last?) filing laid out their case for blocking the deal. It boils down to two points: 1. going from four national mobile broadband companies will concentrate market power to the point that prices will rise and service will fall, and 2. there’s reason to believe DISH can add meaningful competition, even if it keeps its build out promises. The AGs doubt it will.