Kansas approves Sprint and T-Mobile merger

The State of Kansas today approved the long-planned merger of Sprint and T-Mobile to form the nation’s third-largest telecommunications carrier that will maintain its second headquarters in Overland Park, Attorney General Derek Schmidt announced.

Kansas joined the U.S. Department of Justice in formally approving the merger subject to certain conditions. The approval was filed this morning in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The attorney general’s office handled this matter for Kansas because it enforces both federal and state antitrust laws.

“Our team has studied this merger and its effect on Kansas,” Schmidt said. “I am convinced it will benefit Kansas consumers by increasing competition in our state, expanding quality coverage in many rural areas of Kansas, expediting the deployment of 5G technology for Kansans, and protecting and expanding Kansas jobs. I am comfortable with assurances from T-Mobile, Sprint and Softbank leadership of the merged company’s commitment to Kansas and to investing in our state to improve services and expand competition that will benefit Kansas consumers.”

Schmidt said he and his office have worked with USDOJ in reviewing and ultimately approving the merger. Schmidt spoke last night with the head of USDOJ’s Antitrust Division to resolve remaining issues.

Under the terms of the approval, various assets will be divested by the merging companies to address antitrust concerns. Those assets will become available to Dish Network Corporation, which will then be in a position to enter the telecommunications services market. That, in turn, would preserve four major national competitors as there are today.

In addition to USDOJ and Kansas, today’s approval is joined by Ohio, Oklahoma, Nebraska and South Dakota. More information about today’s approval is available in the USDOJ statement, which is available at https://bit.ly/2YrSzIf.