T-Mobile and Sprint CEOs Said to State Case for Merger at FCC

(Bloomberg) -- The leaders of T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. appeared at the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday to begin laying the groundwork for their proposed $26.5 billion merger, according to an agency official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the meeting wasn't public.

T-Mobile's John Legere and Sprint's Marcelo Claure met with FCC officials and laid out much the same case that the companies have presented in public since announcing T-Mobile's proposed purchase of its smaller rival on April 29, said the official.

Meetings had been scheduled with Commissioner Michael O'Rielly, a Republican, and Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat. FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, was traveling in Mississippi on Tuesday. Legere has said he talked to Pai after the deal was announced on Sunday.

The tie-up of the third- and fourth-largest U.S. mobile providers needs to receive approval from the FCC and clear antitrust regulators at the Justice Department.

Tara Darrow, a T-Mobile spokeswoman, when asked about Legere's schedule, replied in an email saying, “We don't have anything to share on John's plans in DC.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Todd Shields in Washington at tshields3@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jon Morgan at jmorgan97@bloomberg.net, Sara Forden

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