Sprint, T-Mobile merger reportedly in the final stages … again

By Williams Pelegrin July 14, 2014

Last we heard of the potential merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, Sprint reportedly finalized financing necessary for the deal to take place. Now, a report from Asian publication Nikkei claims that there is a deal in place between the two wireless carriers.

According to the report, final details still need to be ironed out. Reportedly, SoftBank, Sprint’s Japanese parent company, is seeking to buy more than 50 percent of T-Mobile USA’s shares from its German parent company, Deutsche Telekom. The German telecommunications giant currently owns a 67 percent majority stake. In order to purchase the 50 percent stake, Nikkei reports that SoftBank will use cash and stock swaps in order to come up with the $16 billion.

While both SoftBank and T-Mobile have remained tight-lipped in regards to a potential merger, there have been several reports since December of last year. Last month’s report alleged that SoftBank would purchase T-Mobile for $32 billion, with the Japanese telecoms giant also taking on T-Mobile’s debts, which total around $15 billion.

That report also stated that the merger would be announced sometime this month, and with almost half of July now behind us, there’s still time for an announcement.

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Williams Pelegrin

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Williams is an avid New York Yankees fan, speaks Spanish, resides in Colorado, and has an affinity for Frosted Flakes. Send…

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