For the second time in just four months, the $26 billion proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint has been put on hold after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) suspended most of its operation owing to a funding lapse.
With the deal already getting the required approvals from CFIUS as well as cabinet agencies, FCC approval is the only major remaining hurdle for the successful closure of the deal.
Review of the proposed merger deal between the third and the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers was picked up by the FCC on the 3rd week of June, but then the review process was put on hold on September 11 after the companies submitted new documents. Consideration of the deal got underway again on December 4, at day 55 of its informal 180-day review timeline.
T-Mobile initially hoped for a first-quarter close of the deal. But now with the FCC becoming the latest victim of the ongoing impasse over federal government funding, the company expects the deal likely to close in the second-quarter as a long shutdown period means a much longer timeline for review of the transaction.