T-Mobile said it officially closed its $26 billion merger with rival Sprint — creating a wireless carrier with over 100 million customers nationwide — and reiterated its pledge to not increase customers’ fees for the next three years.
With the deal completed, John Legere, who served as CEO of T-Mobile since 2012, is exiting the position; he will continue as a member of the board through the company’s June 2020 annual shareholders meeting. Former COO Mike Sievert assumes the role of president and CEO of the combined T-Mobile/Sprint effective immediately, a month ahead of the previously announced CEO transition plan.
Last month, the parent companies of T-Mobile and Sprint revised the financial terms of the pact, under which Deutsche Telekom owns 43% of the new T-Mobile and SoftBank Group holds a 24% stake. Shares of the combined company’s common stock will continue to trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “TMUS.”
The FCC and the Justice Department last year approved the merger, with conditions including Sprint selling its prepaid businesses to Dish Network. The deal faced a court challenge from several U.S. state attorneys general that argued the tie-up would lead to higher prices and reduced choice for consumers; that lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge in February.
The “new T-Mobile” has committed to delivering customers the “same or better rate plans for three years,” which includes access to 5G wireless service. The company says it will invest $40 billion into its network and business over the next three years, while it claims synergies from the integration of T-Mobile and Sprint will yield at least $43 billion in cost savings. The network will have 14 times more capacity in the next six years than T-Mobile alone has today, the company said.
“The New T-Mobile’s commitment to delivering a transformative broad and deep nationwide 5G network is more important and more needed than ever and what we are building is mission-critical for consumers,” Sievert said in a statement.
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