US: T-Mobile, Sprint execs testify on proposed merger

The heads of T-Mobile and Sprint testified before a Senate panel on Wednesday, June 27, to make the case for their proposed US$26 billion merger, reported the Wall Street Journal.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere and Marcelo Claure, the executive chairman of Sprint, were announced on Monday, June 25, as witnesses for a Senate Judiciary antitrust subcommittee hearing on the deal.

The two companies, which are the third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers, agreed to the all-stock deal in April, which they said would create thousands of jobs and help the United States beat China to creating the next generation 5G mobile network.

The chief executive of T-Mobile, John Legere, told a Senate Judiciary Committee panel that oversees antitrust issues that much larger rivals AT&T Inc and Verizon Communications Inc have advantages that the two companies cannot address without combining.

“They are much larger and more diversified, so they have a significantly better cost structure,” Legere said. “Verizon and AT&T have scale and asset advantages that even our best offerings cannot overcome.” He said it would be the “complete annihilation” of the brand if a combined T-Mobile-Sprint acted like its larger rivals.

Sprint Executive Chairman Marcelo Claure said the company had lost over $25 billion in the past decade, its headcount fell from 40,000 in 2011 to 30,000 in 2017, and it has $32 billion in debt even as it became net income positive last year for the first time in 11 years.

“We still are unable to spend at parity with Verizon and AT&T, much less catch up to their previous investments,” Claure said.

Full Content: New York Times

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