Sprint slides as 4 more state AGs join the court battle against its merger with T-Mobile (S, TMUS)

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Sprint tumbled as much as 5% on Friday after a report from Bloomberg said four more states are joining a lawsuit against the carrier’s merger with T-Mobile.
Ten state attorneys general filed a lawsuit in early June in the Southern District of New York to block the merger between Sprint and T-Mobile.
The companies and the attorneys general are expected to attend court today with US District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan for a status conference on the case.
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Shares of Sprint dropped as much as 5% on Friday as the telecommunications company started its court fight with more than ten state attorneys general who are attempting to block its merger with T-Mobile.

In early June, state attorneys general from New York, California, and eight other states filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York to oppose the potential merger between T-Mobile and Sprint. According to a Bloomberg report on Friday, four additional states have joined the lawsuit against the deal.

The lawsuit argues that a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile would lead to higher prices and harm consumers. The case is expected to begin on Friday with a status conference with US District Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan.

T-Mobile was down as much as 1.6% on the news.

The deal would bring together the third and fourth-largest wireless carriers in the US, and the combined company would be worth around $146 billion. Executives from Sprint and T-Mobile have both said that the unification of the two carriers is necessary to take on Verizon and AT&T, and to help build the future of 5G wireless networks.

In order to get the deal approved by the Department of Justice, T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to sell-off Boost Mobile, prepaid phone service.

Dish Network Corp. is reportedly in the running to purchase Boost and some wireless spectrum from T-Mobile and Sprint for $6 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Sprint is up 17% this year.

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