Yesterday, T-Mobile was rumored to consider a price reduction to acquire Sprint. The US Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, each has given the green light to the ‘marriage’ between T-Mobile and Sprint. And yet the $26.5 billion mergers are in a holding pattern.
After T-Mobile and Sprint announced their merger this summer, the stock prices of both companies reached record highs, of which Sprint’s stock price once rose to $8.06. But since then, investors have come to believe that T-Mobile will eventually reduce the price of its initial offer, causing Sprint’s share price to fall below $6.
Under the agreement with the US Department of Justice, Dish will pay $5 billion to acquire Sprint’s asset portfolio, which includes Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and other prepaid smartphone businesses. In turn, T-Mobile will provide the company with at least 20,000 cellular towers and hundreds of retail stores. Also, Dish can access to the T-Mobile network within 7 years. However, the two companies must first resolve a lawsuit brought by New York and California attorneys before the deal can be completed.
The trial, in this case, is scheduled to begin next Monday. Sprint offers Hulu, Tidal and Amazon Prime with its priciest unlimited plan. Those competitive pressures have driven T-Mobile and Sprint together. And though executives from both companies promise lower prices and better service, consumer groups and analysts are skeptical. T-M and Sprint have courted each other for a long time. The logic is simple: Verizon and AT&T are bigger than either of the two companies. A merger would create a stronger competitor.