Trump administration could block T-Mobile/Sprint merger, AT&T CEO says

Randall Stephenson, AT&T's CEO, predicted that T-Mobile USA and Sprint will have a difficult time getting their merger approved because the deal would eliminate a major competitor. "I think [T-Mobile and Sprint] have a tough hill to climb, I mean, it's a classic horizontal merger where you're taking a competitor out of the marketplace," Stephenson said. "It was obvious that when [Department of Justice antitrust chief] Delrahim had been confirmed by the Senate, that we were really close to having a deal done with the DOJ, then all a sudden those talks kind of came to a grinding halt," Stephenson said. He was also asked if he thinks T-Mobile should be allowed to buy Sprint, but he declined to answer. "I'm not taking any public position," he said. "People say, 'Well, if he comes out and he says he supports it, that means that it must be anti-competitive. Because why would he want it? If he says that he's against it, that means it must be pro-competitive, so we gotta let it go.'" 

Though Stephenson said the T-Mobile/Sprint merger will have a tough time getting approval, he said the market is more competitive today than when AT&T tried to buy T-Mobile in 2011. "It is a very different marketplace today and there are a number of competitors out there in this space," Stephenson said, perhaps referring to cable companies like Comcast offering mobile services in their cable territories. "A new competitor's coming into it every day, so it will probably get a different review than what our deal with T-Mobile received. But power to them if they get it done."