\tAnalyst company MoffettNathanson warned a potential legal challenge from state officials could reduce the likelihood of T-Mobile US and Sprint gaining federal approval for a planned merger.<\/p>\n
Though the operators’ arguments in favour of the deal have remained the same, MoffettNathanson said the political climate has shifted. Its announcement followed a report by Bloomberg\u00a0that up to 16 state attorneys general could sue in federal court to block the transaction.<\/p>\n
In a note to investors, MoffettNathanson said such action \u201craises the odds” that the US Department of Jutice (DoJ) would reject the deal to avoid a potentially “embarassing reversal” later on.<\/p>\n
The DoJ in February lost a bid to retrospectively block AT&T\u2019s acquisition of Time Warner.<\/p>\n
MoffettNathanson also pointed out the deal has yet to clear all state approvals, with three of 19 remaining. Though it cleared a major hurdle in earning a nod from officials in New York in February, a green light from California still outstanding: \u201cIt\u2019s not clear how the deal could move forward if a state the size of California blocked it; separating a network (and a customer base) along state lines would be incredibly difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
In addition to approvals from the DoJ and state officials, the deal must also be cleared by the Federal Communications Commission [1].<\/p>\n[1] https:\/\/www.mobileworldlive.com\/featured-content\/top-three\/t-mobile-us-sprint-deal-faces-more-delays\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Analyst company MoffettNathanson warned a potential legal challenge from state officials could reduce the likelihood …<\/p>\n
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