U.S. OK of T-Mobile-Sprint Deal Would Make It Harder for States

The Justice Department’s potential approval of T-Mobile U.S. Inc.'s acquisition of Sprint Corp. would complicate a multi-state challenge to the deal.

Thirteen states and the District of Columbia, which collectively sued to block the deal in June, will have to come up with new legal arguments, overcome judicial deference to federal regulators, and convince a judge that a sale of assets to Dish Network Corp. wouldn’t preserve enough wireless competition.

“A lot of the central factual things that the states are complaining about in their initial complaint will be rendered moot by the settlement,” Randy Gordon, partner at Barnes and ...