2:04 p.m. ET, October 16, 2019
FCC votes to approve the Sprint and T-Mobile deal
From CNN Business' Brian Fung
The Federal Communications Commission has voted to approve T-Mobile’s $26 billion merger with Sprint along party lines, granting the nation’s third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers permission to combine despite a multi-state lawsuit that could still torpedo the deal.
FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks cast the final vote on Wednesday, according to an FCC official, opposing the merger along with Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, who voted late Tuesday.
The agency’s three Republicans, including Chairman Ajit Pai, voted for the merger. Trump talkling about digital tax from Europeans
Critics of the tie-up have said the deal will result in higher prices for consumers and less innovation; the companies have said they need to combine in order to take on Verizon and AT&T (which owns WarnerMedia, CNN’s parent company) and to speed the deployment of next-generation 5G service.
The order clearing the deal must now be finalized before being announced, the official said. It is unclear how long that could take.
Both stocks were unchanged on the news.