T-Mobile Reassures Sprint Merger Stakeholders Amid COVID-19 Concerns

T-Mobile emphasized that it can still afford to pay for its merger with Sprint.

T-Mobile said in a Thursday statement that none of the 16 banks supporting the multibillion transaction have withdrawn their support. According to T-Mobile, the carrier still has the option of calling on the banks for bridge financing.

T-Mobile’s Mike Sievert

“In times when consumers need affordable service plans to stay connected, T-Mobile is fully prepared and well positioned to be the provider to meet these needs,” T-Mobile President and Chief Operating Officer Mike Sievert said. “In fact, after we close the merger, the New T-Mobile may be the best positioned company to serve them, as more and more consumers seek value in these uncertain times. We’re here for our community of consumers who count on us.”

Sievert said last month that the companies could close their merger by April 1. The all-stock deal was initially valued at $26 billion.

“We are very happy to have assembled 16 leading U.S. and global banks in our committed bridge financing for the acquisition of Sprint. This diversification of banks and the spreading of the committed bridge financing creates a very high-quality bridge,” said Braxton Carter, T-Mobile’s chief financial officer.

T-Mobile’s announcement seeks to reassure stakeholders that a bear market impacted by a global pandemic won’t get in the way of the merger. CEO John Legere added that the “finish line” is in sight.

“I’m pleased that right now we have broad support from the banks to finance the closing of this merger – we are very close to unleashing the capabilities of the New T-Mobile, and that is even more important for consumers during the current COVID-19 pandemic,” said John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile. “Our nation is more dependent than ever on connectivity, and we will continue to deliver our essential wireless service today and when we merge with Sprint, with a nationwide 5G service that is broader and more robust than anything else in America.”

A federal judge last month all but finalized the merger by dismissing a lawsuit from 14 state attorneys general. T-Mobile also appears to have made progress with the California Public Utilities Commission, which had the potential to delay its regulatory approval decision until the summer. Daniel Petrov of PhoneArena.com writes that the commission laid out a number of conditions to T-Mobile including that the combined company’s employee count be the same as or greater than the current number of employees at both companies.

Reports surfaced in late February that T-Mobile was laying off workers at its Metro by T-Mobile prepaid business.