DRC congratulates its clients Gibson Dunn, Cleary Gottlieb, WilmerHale, Wilson Sonsini, Skadden Arps, Morrison & Foerster, Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile, Sprint, and the rest of the trial team on their trial victory in New York et al. v. Deutsche Telekom AG et al., 19-cv-05434 (S.D.N.Y.).
This victory clears the way for the $26.5 billion merger of T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp., the nation's third and fourth largest mobile carriers. As the Court concluded: "T-Mobile has redefined itself over the past decade as a maverick that has spurred the two largest players in its industry to make numerous pro-consumer changes. The Proposed Merger would allow the merged company to continue T-Mobile's undeniably successful business strategy for the foreseeable future."
Despite regulatory approval at the federal level, seventeen states and the District of Columbia joined as plaintiffs in a suit to block the merger under Section 7 of the Clayton Act.
The Plaintiff States argued that the merger would result in higher prices for consumers by eliminating the head-to-head competition between T-Mobile and Sprint and by increasing the likelihood of price coordination between the remaining carriers. After a two-week trial, United States District Court Judge Victor Marrero denied the Plaintiffs' request for an injunction, which will allow the new T-Mobile to compete more effectively with Verizon and AT&T, including expediting the rollout of 5G to underserved communities.
DRC assisted the trial team with trial strategy, a focus group, witness preparation, demonstrative aids, and technical support during the trial.