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U.S. regulators have approved T-Mobile’s $4.4 billion acquisition of UScellular’s wireless business, marking another major corporate consolidation cleared under President Donald Trump’s pro-merger antitrust policy. The Department of Justice (DOJ) closed its investigation without challenging the deal, which includes UScellular’s customers, retail stores, and 30% of its spectrum assets.
T-Mobile (NASDAQ:TMUS) announced the acquisition in May 2024. The DOJ said UScellular lacked the resources to keep pace with rising technology investment demands, which would have degraded its service over time. “Customers will benefit from this transaction,” said DOJ antitrust chief Gail Slater, noting that the agency found no evidence of harm to competition.
Despite clearing the deal, Slater acknowledged growing concerns over spectrum concentration. She warned that the Big Three—Verizon (NYSE:VZ), AT&T (NYSE:T), and T-Mobile—now control over 80% of U.S. wireless spectrum, heightening risks to future competition.
The DOJ’s decision came just a day after T-Mobile announced it would end its diversity, equity, and inclusion programs amid pressure from the Trump administration, as the company seeks broader regulatory approval, including from the FCC, for a separate joint venture involving internet provider Metronet.
T-Mobile shares ticked up after hours, while UScellular rose 2%.
The approval is part of a broader trend under the Trump administration’s antitrust leadership, which contrasts with the previous Biden-era crackdown on large mergers. In June alone, the DOJ and FTC cleared three deals worth a combined $63 billion. One involved Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s (NYSE:HPE) $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks (NYSE:JNPR), which DOJ previously moved to block before reaching a settlement soon after Slater took office.
T-Mobile and UScellular have yet to comment.
