UPDATE The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) asked the FCC to pause its review of T-Mobile’s (NASDAQ: TMUS) acquisition of UScellular (NYSE: USM) pending a national security review. The DoJ made the request on behalf of the Committee for the Assessment of Foreign Participation in the United States Telecommunications Service Sector.
The DoJ asked the Commission to turn over the T-Mobile-UScellular material to the committee so it can “determine whether these applications pose a risk to the national security or law enforcement interests of the United States,” according to a memo from the Foreign Investment Review Section, National Security Division of the DoJ.
“USDOJ believes T-Mobile-UScellular application relationships and ownership associated with the applications, and a review by the Committee is necessary to assess and make an appropriate recommendation as to how the Commission should adjudicate these applications. As with any application that is referred to the Committee, USDOJ further requests that the Commission defer action on these applications until the Committee has concluded its review and offered its recommendation.”
The foreign ownership question has come up because T-Mobile is majority-owned by Deutsche Telekom AG (DT), a German corporation. Deutsche Telekom Holding B.V., a Netherlands entity and an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of DT, holds a direct 50.42 percent equity and voting interest in T-Mobile, Inside Towers reported. In addition, DT holds a proxy to vote additional shares of T-Mobile. As a result, DT has an indirect 50.42 percent equity interest and 100 percent voting interest in T-Mobile.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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