Large Japanese carrier Softbank is in active talks to buy a major stake in Sprint Nextel, confirms the American carrier.
The majority stake would cost Softbank 1 trillion yen, or about $12.75 billion USD.
Sprint's stock has jumped 20 percent today following the news. The news is especially notable since Sprint only has a market value of $17 billion, meaning the Softbank stake will likely be very substantial.
The company is the third largest carrier in the U.S. behind Verizon and AT&T but ahead of T-Mobile, who is also looking to boost subscribers and spectrum by merging with pre-paid king MetroPCS.
Softbank is worth about $40 billion and is led by Japan's second-richest man, Masayoshi Son. The company recently purchased eAccess in Japan for $1.84 billion, giving it 39 million subscribers. Sprint has 56 million in the U.S.
Sprint's stock has jumped 20 percent today following the news. The news is especially notable since Sprint only has a market value of $17 billion, meaning the Softbank stake will likely be very substantial.
The company is the third largest carrier in the U.S. behind Verizon and AT&T but ahead of T-Mobile, who is also looking to boost subscribers and spectrum by merging with pre-paid king MetroPCS.
Softbank is worth about $40 billion and is led by Japan's second-richest man, Masayoshi Son. The company recently purchased eAccess in Japan for $1.84 billion, giving it 39 million subscribers. Sprint has 56 million in the U.S.
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