T-Mobile, Sprint push back merger deadline

T-Mobile and Sprint are again extending the deadline to complete their proposed merger, according to a Monday filing by T-Mobile with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The telecommunications giants now have until July 29 as they seek approval of their $26 billion deal from officials at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The previous deadline was Monday. 

{mosads}It has been about a year since T-Mobile and Sprint announced their plan to merge.

Makan Delrahim, the top antitrust official at the DOJ, on Monday said he has not made up his mind yet about the merger between two of the nation’s four larger mobile carriers.

“I have not made up my mind,” Delrahim told CNBC. He said the DOJ is “continuing to investigate” the effects the merger could have on prices for consumers. 

“We’ve requested some data from the companies that will be forthcoming,” Delrahim said. “We don’t have a set number of meetings or a time line.”

His comments come shortly after The Wall Street Journal reported that DOJ officials have said they would not accept the merger under its current proposed terms. 

The proposed merger has become a source of political tension on Capitol Hill, where the issue has divided Democrats and aggravated lawmakers concerned about antitrust issues.

Democrats in the House and Senate have sent letters urging the FCC and DOJ to reject the merger, claiming it could harm consumers and workers by decreasing competition and creating higher costs for customers. 

The companies have denied the warnings, pledging that their combined business would not raise rate plans on customers for the first three years.