Justice department looking to delay Sprint/Softbank merger

[supert0nes]

Looks like it's pick on Sprint day.

 

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/29/3928968/us-justice-department-asks-fcc-to-defer-sprint-softbank-merger

 

 

The US Justice Department has requested that the FCC defer a planned merger between Sprint and SoftBank, according to Bloomberg, a move that would grant the government more time to review the proposal. The deal was first announced in October, with Sprint and Japanese carrier SoftBank publicly stating they hoped to have it approved by mid-2013. A deferment from the FCC could significantly hold up that process and push off any closure of the $20.8 billion acquisition.

 

 

Though it hasn't voiced outright opposition to such a merger, rival AT&T issued a statement highlighting the fact that the buyout would grant "Japan's largest wireless companies control of significantly more U.S. wireless spectrum than any other company" — a statistic it urged regulators to take into consideration during the review process. Approval of the merger is important to Sprint's future plans; as just one example, part of the deal will see $8 billion in equity financing go toward the carrier's 4G LTE buildout in the US.

[marioc21]

This can't be a good sign.

[S4GRU]

This is surprising to me. There is no antitrust element to this deal. This is a win for consumers. Even consumers on other carriers would benefit from competition. *sigh*

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[koiulpoi]

I really don't see how a Japanese company having a stake in the US market is somehow a bad thing, like AT&T seems to be implying. Besides the whole "yellow terror" idea that Asians are coming to ruin us all (see also: every Chinese company is evil and Huawei is stealing our info even though we have no proof), well, I don't understand the problem. They still have to abide by US laws for selling products in the US, so...

[lynyrd65]

This is surprising to me. There is no antitrust element to this deal. This is a win for consumers. Even consumers on other carriers would benefit from competition. *sigh*

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

 

Come on, this is AT&T we're talking about. Did you expect any less?

 

 

what irks me the most about this is AT&T's insinuation that they will be at some disadvantage compared to Sprint due to having less spectrum. Yet no one is complaining to the DOJ about VZW/AT&Ts near monopoly on sub 1ghz spectrum.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk 2

 

 

[Kevster1321]

http://mobile.bloomberg.com/video/doj-asks-fcc-to-defer-softbank-sprint-action-o2ZIo7QQSyWJomUA6RmnPQ.html?cmpid=yhoo

[S4GRU]

This is surprising to me. There is no antitrust element to this deal. This is a win for consumers. Even consumers on other carriers would benefit from competition. *sigh*

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

 

Now I see that it is not an antitrust review by the DOJ, but a national security review. I did expect something like this could occur. Although this will likely slow things down, I cannot imagine any issues with a Japanese company. Unless they have some direct connection to the Chinese.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

[bigsnake49]

The national security review has nothing to do with the FCC. The FCC should do its job and the the other agencies should do theirs. If they're laggards, then they should hurry up.

[Jamal46409]

Not suprised at all........*smh*

[Johnner1999]

http://www.theverge.com/2013/1/29/3928968/us-justice-department-asks-fcc-to-defer-sprint-softbank-merger

[utiz4321]

This deal represents the largest single capital investment by a Japanese firm in the US, it is a good sign when forign companies want to invest in the US for an untold number of reasons. If the DOJ is stupid enough to hold up/kill this deal it will be a sign to companies all over the world that if they make to big a capital investment in the US they will face problems and that will have negative effects far beyond the wireless industry (of course most will be unseen so no one will care). There is no national security issue that would warrant the DOJ holding up this by any sane judgement, Japan has been an allied nation for near 70 years and a huge trading partner. This is a troubling sign for the US economy in general.

[S4GRU]

It turns out that the DOJ filed the same exact deal in the Tmo/Metro PCS merger. This is much ado about nothing. The DOJ has not made any comments yet that make it sound like they are concerned. They are just doing their due diligence.

 

Robert

[supert0nes]

I read comments along those lines on Engadget. First time since they put in the new comments that I've actually read something interesting in them. Good find! They also discussed some of Sprint's government tie ins.

[irev210]

Now I see that it is not an antitrust review by the DOJ, but a national security review. I did expect something like this could occur. Although this will likely slow things down, I cannot imagine any issues with a Japanese company. Unless they have some direct connection to the Chinese.

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

 

It will get approved but they need to detail what steps sprint/softbank will do in the security agreement.

 

Softbank does have a lot of chinese telecom equipment installed - this was one of the ways that they were able to undercut the traditional telecoms in japan (that used NEC and other japanese infrastructure).

 

Back in october, Bloomberg did note that Huawei might come up...

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-18/huawei-may-surface-in-u-s-review-of-softbank-sprint-deal.html

 

“This deal will probably end up getting approved but with a very detailed national security agreement.”

About 10 percent of capital expenditure by Tokyo-based Softbank goes to Huawei and ZTE for equipment, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

[RichardXy]

Well there's always Google or Apple if the Softbank deal falls apart.

[JohnHovah]

Well there's always Google or Apple if the Softbank deal falls apart.

Gapple?

[RichardXy]

Gapple?

 

Goople?

[JohnHovah]

Goople?

 

I guess that depends on how hard the apple is to swallow... (enter googlezon 2014......... aaaw crap, they're behind schedule)

[Abyss19707]

This is surprising to me. There is no antitrust element to this deal. This is a win for consumers. Even consumers on other carriers would benefit from competition. *sigh*

 

Robert via Nexus 7 with Tapatalk HD

 

The antitrust aspect in my mind is the fact that Sprint is trying to use funds that have yet to come in to purchase a company. By the DOJ wants Sprint not to act on new matters before finishing old ones. Also the DOJ could be worried about a foreign firm having so much power in an American cell phone carrier!

[S4GRU]

The antitrust aspect in my mind is the fact that Sprint is trying to use funds that have yet to come in to purchase a company. By the DOJ wants Sprint not to act on new matters before finishing old ones. Also the DOJ could be worried about a foreign firm having so much power in an American cell phone carrier!

 

Sprint doesn't have to use Softbank funds to pay for Clearwire. It has borrowed billions to pay for Network Vision. It can use those funds. Additionally, the money from Softbank is a loan. It is legal. And that is not an issue.

 

The DOJ has made no such claims that Sprint needs to finish old matters before new matters. That's absurd. Where did you get such an idea?

 

Also, the DOJ cannot be worried about a foreign firm owning 70% of an American wireless carrier. T-Mobile is completely foreign controlled. Should the DOJ stop the purchase of MetroPCS, an American company, that will be 100% owned by a foreign company? There is no legal precedent to stop this except for national security concerns.

 

I'm not sure where your hostility is coming from. This purchase is a win for everybody, except for possibly AT&T and Verizon.

 

Robert

[xcharles718]

The DOJ inquiry seems to be nothing to make a big fuss about, as DT went though the same thing when they bought Voicestream years ago. I do wonder how far this deal would go if it was China Mobile. I personally don't have any issues with such a deal happening, but then again, I'm not senator, regulatory body, corporation, or a lobbyist.

 

The new T-Mobile/MetroPCS entity will be 76% owned by DT, with the rest owned by MetroPCS and their shareholders.

 

In all, I, an american consumer only see good things coming from the approval of this investment.

[Fraydog]

I have no problem with the DOJ investigating, but if foreign ownership was/is an issue, why approve Voicestream to T-Mobile?

 

Also, the Huawei comparison doesn't hold for me. Huawei is owned by the Chinese government, SoftBank by an investor who went to college in the US and is very friendly to US interests. It's like comparing apples to oranges.

[xcharles718]

The DOJ is just requesting time to review the deal with foreign investment, as done with DT/Voicestream deal. They're not activity trying to stop the deal from happening.

 

Huawei is owned by it's employees.

[JohnnyAwesome]

It will get approved but they need to detail what steps sprint/softbank will do in the security agreement.

 

Softbank does have a lot of chinese telecom equipment installed - this was one of the ways that they were able to undercut the traditional telecoms in japan (that used NEC and other japanese infrastructure).

 

Back in october, Bloomberg did note that Huawei might come up...

 

http://www.bloomberg...print-deal.html

 

 

Well There will not be at this point be any Huawei equipment in the Network Vision project... Potentially depending on what happens with the Clearwire Spectrum they could be pressed into service since Clear has already done some business with them and has some network elements from them.

[irev210]

Well There will not be at this point be any Huawei equipment in the Network Vision project... Potentially depending on what happens with the Clearwire Spectrum they could be pressed into service since Clear has already done some business with them and has some network elements from them.

 

Yup, the whole point is to setup a framework for the future. Not just promise me today, buy Huawei/ZTE tomorrow.