Judge OKs AT&T and T-Mobile “Please Hold” Merger Request

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A federal judge approved a joint request by mobile telecoms AT&T and T-Mobile to put their $39 billion merger litigation with the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division on hold.

U.S. District Court Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle signed off on the two companies’ joint motion to stay proceedings in the antitrust case until mid-January.

This appears to be a wise move.

That is because the proposed merger is looking much bleaker since the FCC issued its 157-page staff report less than two weeks ago.

The FCC Staff Analysis and Findings concluded that an AT&T and T-Mobile merger would violate federal antitrust law, and “would not be in the public interest.” The agency’s attorneys concluded that “the proposed transaction would likely lead to substantial lessening of competition.”

Would the collapse of the deal result in carrier price slashing and competition for consumers? We’ll have to wait and see.

Read the court order putting litigation on hold below, and browse all legal docs in the antitrust case here

Order Putting DOJ v. AT&T and T-Mobile Antitrust Litigation on Hold