The Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that Texas intends to join a coalition of 13 other states, and the District of Columbia, in challenging the proposed merger of Sprint and T-Mobile. The states are going ahead with their case against the merger in the name of consumer interests, despite the federal Department of Justice reaching an agreement with the companies on concessions.
Paxton said in a statement that despite the DoJ agreement, he has an "independent obligation to protect Texas consumers". His office evaluated the proposed merger and the settlement with the DoJ and found that the plan to support Dish Network in becoming a new mobile operator is not enough to replace the competition provided by Sprint as the fourth operator on the market. "The bargain struck by the U.S. Dept. of Justice is not in the best interest of working Texans, who need affordable mobile wireless telecommunication services that are fit to match the speed and technological innovation demands of Texas’ growing economy," Paxton said.
The New York and California co-led lawsuit was originally filed in June and includes the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nevada, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. At a hearing on 01 August in the US District court for the Southern District of New York, counsel for New York advised the court that they will be seeking leave for Texas and possibly other states to join the lawsuit next week.
A source familiar with the case told Multichannel that the initial hearing of the case has been delayed, from October to December. This means the companies will be unable to close the merger until 2020, unless they reach a settlement with the states.
