T-Mobile Judge Didn’t Buy State Claims of Antitrust Harm (1)

The federal judge who blessed T-Mobile US Inc.’s merger with Sprint Corp. said a group of state attorneys general didn’t persuade him that the $26.5 billion deal would have disastrous consequences for competition in the U.S. wireless industry.

In a decision made public on Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Victor Marrero in Manhattan rejected key arguments from the states: that the merged company would raise prices for lower quality service and that Sprint could remain as a viable competitor without the merger.

“T-Mobile has redefined itself over the past decade as a maverick that has spurred the two largest ...