Deals
Texts Show DOJ Effort to Enlist Senators in T-Mobile Deal
- U.S. sought lobbying of FCC to pass merger, judge hears
- Texts between antitrust chief and Dish chairman are revealed
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The Justice Department’s antitrust chief tried to get U.S. senators enlisted to lobby an independent regulator to approve the $26.5 billion merger of Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc., according to text messages presented as evidence by states seeking to block the deal.
Makan Delrahim, who heads the department’s antitrust division, wanted senators to contact Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, to discuss the merger as questions lingered about whether the deal would win approval, a judge heard Wednesday at a trial of the states’ antitrust lawsuit.