Sprint shares halted on merger mixed messages

Black tie or boho chic. DJ or Band. Vows or no vows... Sprint and T-Mobile aren't having typical pre-wedding pillow talk. They're still trying to convince the government to bless the nuptials. Then two surprise developments Monday messed with both stocks in the $26B merger:

• First, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said he was on board for the deal, popping T-Mobile up 6% and Sprint up 27%.
• Then Bloomberg reported that the Dep't of Justice still isn't feeling it, cutting both stocks' gains in half on the uncertainty (Sprint trading had to be halted).
• Quick clarification: The Justice Dep't gets final say since its role is to protect consumers from a lack of competition.

T-Mobile knows this looks bad... The #3 and #4 biggest companies in an industry aren't typically allowed to merge. So here's what T-Mobile/Sprint promised the FCC if it's approved.

1. No price hikes for 3 years (pinky swear).
2. It'll build out 5G coverage for 97% of the US population, into areas telecom companies usually ignore.
3. It can sell off Boost Mobile, its prepaid wireless service, so there's still a 4th competitor.