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An Anti-Trust Test Case

By Jim Cramer

 About this article:
 Wait a second -- before we leave today we have to ask how the heck can Sprint afford to buy anyone? How can this beaten-up company buy Virgin Mobile USA, especially so inexpensively, although the darned thing is up 400% coming in to today. This acquisition, a reminder that you should never buy anything from Richard Branson when he takes something public, will be a test of the new Justice Department. There's been a ton of consolidation in the phone business and the government has targeted it, despite the fact that we all know that these companies fight tooth and nail against each other. I am sure Sprint will say that this is all about getting prepaid card users and doesn't amount to a consolidation at all. But if you are in the antitrust division of the Justice Department and you have a mandate to squelch anti-competitive deals,...

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