T-Mobile CEO John Legere and President Michael Sievert spoke with FCC Chairman Ajit Pai and Chief of Staff Matthew Berry by phone Saturday about the company buying Sprint. Legere and Sievert "discussed the commitment to divest the Boost business,” said a filing posted Wednesday in docket 18-197: “They also discussed the status of the transaction … generally.” In May, T-Mobile/Sprint agreed to sell Boost, Sprint’s prepaid business, and to make other concessions to win FCC OK (see 1905200051).
DOJ may not get involved in a lawsuit to block T-Mobile from buying Sprint in a case involving states, as four more states joined 10 other states' suit against the deal, a court that will hear the case beginning Oct. 7 apparently was told Friday. That's according to an attendee and other stakeholders including a spokesperson for co-plaintiff New York. During a status-type hearing in New York, "a lawyer for T-Mobile noted that it was 'very unlikely' that the DOJ" will sue by participating in this case, recalled New Street Research's Vivek Stalam. That could also mean that Justice won't challenge the states' case. U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero "seems open-minded," the analyst wrote investors. "Referring to the threshold questions of the case, Judge Marrero noted both traditional antitrust questions around market concentration, as well as the impact of 5G, and whether incremental competition in one market could offset anti-competitive effects in another." Four more Democratic AGs joined the suit, Stalam noted, as expected (see 1906140041). Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Nevada's addition was reflected in an amended complaint filed Friday, the New York AG's office announced. "State AGs are adamant about continuing with the litigation even if the merger were to receive DOJ and FCC approval prior to the trial date, surmising that any such approvals would require additional review and analysis to ensure compliance with the States’ antitrust concerns," wrote the Rural Wireless Association. RWA backs the suit. DOJ didn't respond to requests for comment and T-Mobile declined to comment. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said separately Friday that clearing T-Mobile/Sprint is “one of the most critical steps the agency can take” to promote mid-band 5G (see 1906210045).
Control4's 4 board unanimously recommends shareholders approve the company's proposed acquisition by SnapAV (see 1905090052), said a definitive proxy statement Friday at the SEC scheduling a July 30 "special meeting" at Control4's Salt Lake City headquarters for a shareholder vote on the transaction. If the deal is completed, Control4 shares will be converted to $23.91 in cash, it said. Antitrust authorities cleared the way for SnapAV to buy Control4, said an FTC early termination notice dated June 11 that ended the transaction’s Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period.
New Street’s Jonathan Chaplin told investors Wednesday if T-Mobile and Sprint really have reached an agreement to sell assets to Dish Network for $6 billion, the sale probably includes as many as 12 million prepaid subscribers and spectrum in either the 800 MHz or 2.5 GHz bands. Agreement could be enough to end the lawsuit filed by state attorneys general (see 1906110044), he said. “Presumably, the asset acquisition helps establish DISH as a credible enough fourth carrier such that the DOJ can approve the deal,” Chaplin said: “The state AG’s will then decide whether the divestitures and other conditions are sufficient to cure the competitive harms that they see arising from the deal. … We think the concessions could weaken the state’s case enough such that they drop their suit or lose in court, but it will depend on the details of the concessions.”
ON Semiconductor completed its Quantenna Communications cash buy with an equity value of $1.07 billion, it said Wednesday. Quantenna’s Wi-Fi technologies and ON's power and analog semiconductors creates "a formidable platform" for connectivity in industrial, automotive and carrier markets, said ON Semiconductor CEO Keith Jackson. ON announced the plan to buy Quantenna in March (see 1903280049) and antitrust authorities cleared the acquisition in April (see 1904230053). Quantenna will be integrated into ON's analog solutions group, headed by general manager Vince Hopkin.
Pressure on antitrust chief Makan Delrahim to not sue to block T-Mobile’s proposed buy of Sprint is reminiscent of the fight over whether DOJ should drop its legal action to break up AT&T in the early 1980s, Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy's Gigi Sohn blogged Tuesday. At the beginning of the Reagan administration, powerful figures, including Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, Secretary of Commerce Malcolm Baldridge and Counselor to the President Ed Meese leaned on DOJ to drop its case against AT&T, Sohn said. Then-antitrust chief Bill Baxter stood firm, she said: “Baxter engaged the Cabinet secretaries in a lengthy debate over whether the case should be dismissed. In the end, the President did not weigh in on either side. That meeting put an end to the pressure on Baxter to drop the AT&T case, and the rest is history.” Delrahim faces similar pressure now, Sohn wrote. She's opposed to T-Mobile/Sprint.
Minnesota and North Carolina attorneys general are studying T-Mobile's buy of Sprint, the offices wrote the FCC, posted Friday in docket 18-197. Arizona and Michigan had sought access to documents and information containing number resource utilization and forecast and local number portability data. About 20 state AGs have sought such data, and 10 including New York and California sued to stop the deal last week (see 1906110044). U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero on Thursday ordered (in Pacer) a status conference for Friday at 10 a.m. in New York City.
DOJ Antitrust Division Chief Makan Delrahim gave his most aggressive speech yet toward the tech industry Tuesday, signaling structural remedies are a possibility against Google and Apple, Cowen’s Paul Gallant said (see 1906110076). The speech want further than Delrahim's talk in May 2018, when he suggested companies offering free services aren’t “immune from antitrust enforcement,” the analyst emailed investors Wednesday.
Salesforce agreed to buy Tableau Software in a stock deal valued at $15.7 billion, said the companies Monday. Tableau helps companies see and understand data, and Salesforce helps companies engage and understand customers, said Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff. The combined company will help drive the “digital transformation,” they said, citing IDC projections of a worldwide spending on data-driven technologies and services reaching $1.8 trillion in 2022. The transaction is expected to close about Oct. 1.
Antitrust authorities cleared the way for IHS Markit to sell most of its technology, media and telecom research operations to Informa in return for Informa’s agricultural business intelligence group (see 1905220061). An FTC early termination notice dated Friday and released Monday ended the transaction’s Hart-Scott-Rodino waiting period. IHS and Informa said last month they expect the deal to close in July.