Hot on the heels of a rumor that claimed that T-Mobile and Sprint are in “active talks” about a merger, another report claims that an agreement is near.
T-Mobile and Sprint are close to agreeing to terms of a merger, say sources speaking to Reuters. Once the terms are set, the two companies would perform due diligence and then the deal is expected to be complete by the end of October.
It’s said that SoftBank would control 40 to 50 percent of the combined T-Mobile-Sprint, while T-Mo parent company Deutsche Telekom will own a majority stake. T-Mobile CEO John Legere would likely be the one to lead the combined T-Mobile-Sprint.
The sources of this new report also cause that talks still may fall apart. There is concern that a T-Mobile-Sprint deal would face scrutiny from regulators who feel that the U.S. wireless market is getting too concentrated.
We’ve been hearing rumors of a T-Mobile-Sprint merger for years now, with an attempted merger in 2014 getting abandoned by SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son over concerns that regulators would oppose it. Many feel that this merger has a much better chance of passing under the new administration, though, which could be one of the reasons why talks are reportedly heating up again.
Source: Reuters