FCC Hires a Hesse (But Not Dan) to Oversee Review of AT&T-T-Mobile Deal

The FCC has hired a Hesse to head up its review of AT&T’s proposed $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA.

Unfortunately for Sprint, it’s not Dan Hesse. Rather, it is Renata Hesse, a veteran antitrust lawyer–and no relation to the Sprint CEO. Hesse is a former DOJ antitrust lawyer who worked on the government’s opposition to the Oracle-PeopleSoft deal, among other transactions. Hesse is currently a partner with Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati.

“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.”

Both the FCC and Justice Department must sign off on the deal. Sprint, headed by the other Hesse, has vowed to fight the deal.