Deals
Sprint's Revived Push for T-Mobile Hurtles Toward Old U.S. Foes
- Potential merger said likely to draw DOJ staff opposition
- Trump’s antitrust chief would decide whether to approve deal
SoftBank CEO Says Sprint, T-Mobile Merger 'Makes Sense'
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Masayoshi Son is taking another run at his dream to create a U.S. mobile phone heavyweight, but a revived deal would be scrutinized by many of the same officials who batted down his last attempt.
Staff attorneys inside the Justice Department’s antitrust division are likely to view any plans to merge his Sprint Corp. with T-Mobile US Inc. as a threat to competition in the mobile market, according to three people familiar with the staff’s thinking. If they recommend to sue to block the deal, that would leave it to President Donald Trump’s new antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, to decide whether to fight the tie-up, or overrule them and approve it.