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Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Might Be Over Amid Fight for Control of Combined Company [Updated]

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Sprint parent company SoftBank may call off a planned merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, report Nikkei and Reuters.

SoftBank's board of directors is said to be having doubts about the deal due to a failure to reach an agreement about the ownership of the combined T-Mobile/Sprint entity. SoftBank is worried about "losing control" of the combined company, according to sources that spoke to Reuters.

sprinttmobile.jpg

Rumors suggest SoftBank could approach T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom as soon as Tuesday to end the talks. Deutsche Telekom wanted a controlling stake in the combined company, which SoftBank's board has ultimately decided not to agree to. T-Mobile is still attempting to keep the deal going, but Deutsche Telekom does not plan to budge on demands for control.

A T-Mobile and Sprint merger deal has been in the works since February of 2017, and as recently as September, the deal was said to be close to done as SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom worked out the final details. T-Mobile CEO John Legere was set to lead the combined company.

Should the deal ultimately fall through, it will be the second time Sprint and T-Mobile have failed to reach an agreement. Sprint parent company SoftBank attempted to purchase T-Mobile in a 2013 deal worth more than $20 billion, but SoftBank abandoned its plans in 2014 amid regulatory scrutiny.

Even if the deal progresses and SoftBank does not end the merger, it's still unclear if it will gain regulatory approval this time around. In 2014, U.S. antitrust regulators said having four national carriers was important to maintaining a competitive market.

Update: T-Mobile and Sprint are attempting to save the merger and are negotiating new terms with T-Mobile having submitted a new offer, according to The Wall Street Journal. A deal could potentially be reached within weeks, but there's still the chance that it'll fall through.

Article Link: Sprint and T-Mobile Merger Might Be Over Amid Fight for Control of Combined Company [Updated]
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2017/10/30/sprint-t-mobile-merger-over/
If they merge, John Legere has to keep being the CEO and continue to be the uncarrier that trumps all the other carriers. John knows how to run T-Mobile USA and keep the competition up on the others. Softbank/Sprint execs that have ideas should be required to get approval from John Legere.
 
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Bizarre. If Softbank knew how to run Sprint it wouldn't be the take over target it is. But with this going belly up seems like the next step could be vultures ending up picking up Sprint assets in the next few years. I mean any company that literally gives away a free year of service and still can't get takers....
 
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We'll know right away if Sprint gets control. Hold times will multiply by about 10, and when you do reach customer service, they won't be able to solve anything.

---

I love T-Mobile service, but I can see a not-too-distant future when I have to go back to Verizon.
 
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Looks like DT is no longer eager to unload T-Mobile USA or even lose majority control to another company. I'm glad it failed because when it comes to competition, 4 big boys is better than 3 in this arena. Of course, it's still possible we'll go down to 3 if Sprint goes under someday.
 
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I don't think John is worried about this. He's a cool dude....and with one hack incident....remember that?
 
John is the only executive that looks like he cares about consumers and wants to make a positive change to the industry for consumers. Unlike AT&T or other carriers that follow suit.

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Given that since SoftBank bought Sprint in 2013, Sprint has had all of two slightly profitable quarters, and zero profitable years, hemorrhaging something like $10 billion, I would think the last thing SoftBank would want is to be running the newly merged company.

I mean, seriously, if your management has lost money for five years straight while the company you want to merge with has been on an upward trend that entire time, I’d think priority one would be not running the merged company.

But then, if SoftBank made smart decisions they’d either be making money with Sprint or never have bought it in the first place. Why start making good decisions now?
 
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Makosuke said:
Given that since SoftBank bought Sprint in 2013, Sprint has had all of two slightly profitable quarters, and zero profitable years, hemorrhaging something like $10 billion, I would think the last thing SoftBank would want is to be running the newly merged company.

I mean, seriously, if your management has lost money for five years straight while the company you want to merge with has been on an upward trend that entire time, I’d think priority one would be not running the merged company.

But then, if SoftBank made smart decisions they’d either be making money with Sprint or never have bought it in the first place. Why start making good decisions now?
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Makes you wonder why SoftBank wants to even merge with T-Mobile. One might assume it's because they can turn over a profit... but then why ask for more control post-merger? Maybe Softbank is playing 'Hardbank' on T-Mobile in an attempt to get greedy? Maybe it's that kind of attitude that caused Softbank to have caused Sprint to bleed in the first place.

T-Mobile should just let Sprint out the door and let it keep hemorrhaging if greedy SoftBank execs ask for more than an opportunity to turn a profit.
 
Starfyre said:
John is the only executive that looks like he cares about consumers and wants to make a positive change to the industry for consumers. Unlike AT&T or other carriers that follow suit.
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Make no mistake, he doesn't truly care about the consumer, he cares about the bottom line. He just gets the reality that what is good for the consumer also is good for the bottom line.
 
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dampfnudel said:
Looks like DT is no longer eager to unload T-Mobile USA or even lose majority control to another company. I'm glad it failed because when it comes to competition, 4 big boys is better than 3 in this arena. Of course, it's still possible we'll go down to 3 if Sprint goes under someday.
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If they go under? It really is when, not if, the question is what will happen then? I would imagine you would see T-Mobile buying their assets very quickly if for no other reason than to prevent the competitors from getting them.

So in the end, T-Mobile will own Sprint one way or the other, this move is pretty much just trying to let Softbank and Sprint save face at the moment.
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Plutonius said:
Too bad. T-mobile would benefit from Sprint management.
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LOL.....That is hilarious, Sprint has the WORST customer service and management of any of the carriers. Seriously, they can't even give their service away for free!
 
Starfyre said:
Makes you wonder why SoftBank wants to even merge with T-Mobile. One might assume it's because they can turn over a profit... but then why ask for more control post-merger? Maybe Softbank is playing 'Hardbank' on T-Mobile in an attempt to get greedy? Maybe it's that kind of attitude that caused Softbank to have caused Sprint to bleed in the first place.

T-Mobile should just let Sprint out the door and let it keep hemorrhaging if greedy SoftBank execs ask for more than an opportunity to turn a profit.
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The reality is they can either merge under current terms OR go out of business and T-Mobile buys their assets, either way the end game is the same: T-Mobile acquires Sprint.
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lowendlinux said:
I'm glad this is falling through consolidating in any industry is generally bad for consumers
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This is a case where consolidation is going to happen no matter what though, either through a merger or Sprint going bankrupt, I mean they literally can't even give their service away for free. Seriously how bad do you have to be to not be able to give your product away for free?
 
Only like the 10th time we've heard talk of them talking merger. Seems pretty unlikely to happen each time.
 
why would Sprint think the would keep control. Their company is being taken over by the superior corporation. They cash in and go away.
 
If this deal falls through, this could be the final nail in the coffin.

Sprint has been losing money for years. Continuing to borrow money and leverage stock as a means to stay alive is not smart business long term.

We are seeing the death of Sprint. Good riddance to poor business.
 
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