Andre Yoskowitz
14 Oct 2012 21:29
Major Japanese carrier Softbank has agreed to purchase a 70 percent stake in Sprint Nextel.
According to sources, the stake will cost them $20 billion. Softbank will buy $8 billion in direct shares and another $12 billion in shares on the market.
The news is especially notable since Sprint only has a market value of $17 billion.
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.