Carr Appears to Have Big Questions on T-Mobile/Sprint, New Street's Levin Says
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr appears to have big concerns on the T-Mobile/Sprint deal, which involves the sale of assets to Dish Network, New Street’s Blair Levin said in a note to investors. Levin noted nine ex parte filings have been…
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posted on T-Mobile/Sprint meetings with staff for Carr, since Chairman Ajit Pai circulated an order approving the deal. It's possible Carr's seeking a new condition, Levin said in the weekend note to investors. Carr may also be trying to “fix the item related to DISH,” he wrote. Another possibility is Carr's “seeking to fix the item to protect the reputation of the FCC who supported the merger in May while helping the companies at trial,” Levin said: “We think the fundamental problem is that the FCC majority verbally approved a deal that the DOJ and states representing a majority of the population have characterized as illegal under the Clayton Act. In that light, the FCC order has to thread the needle of justifying the views of the majority while also helping the companies at trial.” Carr didn’t comment. Levin reported Tuesday on a call with Constantine Cannon's Matthew Cantor, “one of the few lawyers who has ever tried an antitrust case before Judge Victor Marrero … who will preside over and decide the states’ challenge” to T-Mobile/Sprint. “The Judge has little experience with antitrust cases and the prior case was a jury case, which presents a different situation,” Cantor said. Marrero's also “unlikely to be active in driving a settlement” or “to be active in directing testimony,” Cantor indicated. Marrero, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, is also “unlikely to let politics influence his decision,” Cantor said.