A former Justice Department Antitrust Division official will spearhead the Federal Communications Commission review of the proposed AT&T and T-Mobile merger, the FCC announced Tuesday.
Renata Hesse (Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati)
Renata Hesse, who led the DOJ Antitrust Division Networks and Technology Enforcement Section, will be the FCC’s senior counsel to the chairman for transactions, looking over the proposed $39 billion merger of the telecommunications companies as part of her responsibilities. The FCC will determine whether the proposed deal is good for the public, while the Justice Department will examine it for antitrust pitfalls.
Hesse is currently a partner at the law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in D.C.
“Renata’s wealth of legal expertise and experience is a welcome addition to the review team and I am thrilled that she will soon be joining us,” FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in a statement. “Her leadership will help ensure that our review of this important transaction is fair, thorough and efficient.”
At the DOJ, Hesse handled high-profile matters, including an unsuccessful effort by the Department to block Oracle Corp.’s acquisition of PeopleSoft Inc. in 2004 and the agreement in 2003 that allowed First Data Corp., a payments processing company, to acquire Concord EFS Inc., another payments processor.
