The deal got a nod from the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFIUS) in the United States as well as the Justice Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Defense Department -collectively referred to as Team Telecom, the companies said.
The merger between T-Mobile and Sprint had been expected to get an all clear from CFIUS after sources told Reuters on Friday that the firms’ respective foreign owners, Deutsche Telekom AG and Japan’s SoftBank Group Ltd, had offered to stop using Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] equipment.
People familiar with the deal said last week that US officials had pressured Deutsche Telekom to stop using Huawei gear, and the companies believed they had to comply to win approval from CFIUS.
, headed by the Treasury Department.
Many governments around the world have shut out the Chinese firm amid worries its gear could facilitate Chinese spying. While T-Mobile and Sprint do not use Huawei equipment, Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank use some Huawei gear in overseas markets.
T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest US wireless carriers, said on Monday that Team Telecom, in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), indicated it had no objections to the merger after reviewing ‘potential national security, law enforcement, and public safety issues.’
‘We are pleased to achieve both of these important milestones in the journey to build the New T-Mobile,’ T-Mobile CEO John Legere said in a statement. The company has previously said it expects the deal to close in the first half of 2019.
