Andre Yoskowitz
20 Oct 2013 22:43
SoftBank, the new owner of wireless carrier Sprint, has taken a large 57 percent stake in U.S. wireless device distributor Brightstar.
The Japanese co. will pay $1.26 billion for the stake, valuing the privately held distributor at $2.2 billion.
SoftBank will increase its ownership to 70 percent "over the next five years, or upon certain events," although it is unclear what those events may be.
As part of the deal, Brightstar will "become the exclusive provider of handsets, accessories, and services to certain SoftBank telecommunications affiliates," with the company prepared to buy $20 billion in handsets, accessories, and services through these connections.
In addition, Brightstar will also "have a preferential right to provide services including distribution, supply chain, handset insurance, buy-back and trade-in, multi-channel retail, and financial services to certain SoftBank telecommunications affiliates."
The distributor purchases handsets from over 100 manufacturers and then supplies them to carriers. The company also handles many trade-in and buy-back programs for larger retailers and carriers.