Following its reported meeting with the FCC and the Justice Department last Monday, the Wall Street Journal is citing its own sources in reporting that Sprint is now rethinking its purchase bid for T-Mobile, with both Dan Hesse and Masayoshi Son being caught off guard by the resistance to the intentions to purchase T-Mobile by both Sprint and SoftBank.
Both agencies indicated a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile would face tough resistance from antitrust regulators and Hesse/Son were surprised by the level of skepticism for the purchase bid, even though they’re pushing for the deal as the best way to compete against Verizon and AT&T. However, FCC Chief Tom Wheeler along with the Justice Department are standing firm in the belief that the country needs four carriers in order for the wireless industry to remain competitive.
