States Demand Merger Data
6:55 AM -- Nine U.S. states have turned up the regulatory heat on AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) and T-Mobile US Inc. 's proposed US$39 billion merger by issuing subpoenas to Sprint Corp. (NYSE: S) as well as AT&T to provide further information about the competitive landscape, reports Bloomberg.
The states involved are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. They want to know about customer habits (such as how often subscribers change to a new provider) in order to gauge the deal's competitive implications and, ultimately, the effect on consumers.
It's the latest escalation of scrutiny of the merger. The regulatory hurdles are already high for this deal, but there are bound to be more down the track, as we've reported here:
— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile
The states involved are Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington. They want to know about customer habits (such as how often subscribers change to a new provider) in order to gauge the deal's competitive implications and, ultimately, the effect on consumers.
It's the latest escalation of scrutiny of the merger. The regulatory hurdles are already high for this deal, but there are bound to be more down the track, as we've reported here:
- AT&T Takes the Oath on T-Mobile Merger
- Regulatory Scrutiny Escalates for AT&T/T-Mobile
- AT&T/T-Mobile: Riddled With Regulatory Risk
- CTIA 2011: AT&T & T-Mobile: Net Neutrality Concerns
— Michelle Donegan, European Editor, Light Reading Mobile
^Eagle^
12/5/2012 | 4:59:38 PM
re: States Demand Merger Data
Michelle,
You shouldn't be surprised that only 9 states are digging into this. Look at the structures of the regulatory agencies in each of the states and look at who appointed the regulators.
Not too much different from the story about only a very few states digging into the "doings" of the large financial institutions that caused the economic calamity we are trying to dig out of.
sailboat
sam masud
12/5/2012 | 4:59:35 PM
re: States Demand Merger Data
The right thing to do, from both customer and competition perspectives, is to just say NO to this merger.
I'm surprised there are just nine states asking for data.
The comments Bloomberg reported from different state's attorney general offices aren't very revealing about the states' specific concerns with the merger. For one, though, it's just a matter of common sense: “It’s hard to see how four companies going down to three, basically less competition, would benefit consumers” -- that's from a spokesman for Minnesota's Attorney General in the article.