T-Mobile and Sprint Aiming to Close Merger as Early as April 1

[MacRumors]

T-Mobile and Sprint are aiming to finish their merger by April 1 now that all legal issues have been resolved and regulatory approval has been granted, the two companies announced today.

In a press release, Sprint and T-Mobile announced an amended business combination agreement that has been approved by the Boards of Directors of T-Mobile and Sprint. Under the terms of the amendment, T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom will get a slightly higher ownership stake in the new company.

A separate arrangement entered into by SoftBank Group Corp. in connection with the amendment will result in an effective exchange ratio of approximately 11.00 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile share immediately following the closing of the merger, an increase from the originally agreed 9.75 shares. This is a result of SoftBank agreeing to surrender approximately 48.8 million T-Mobile shares acquired in the merger to New T-Mobile immediately following the closing of the transaction, making SoftBank's effective ratio 11.31 Sprint shares per T-Mobile share. Sprint shareholders other than SoftBank will continue to receive the original fixed exchange ratio of 0.10256 T-Mobile shares for each Sprint share, or the equivalent of approximately 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile share.

Immediately following the closing, and after the surrender of shares by SoftBank, Deutsche Telekom and SoftBank are expected to hold approximately 43% and 24%, respectively, of the fully diluted New T-Mobile shares, with the remaining approximately 33% held by public shareholders.

Mike Sievert, T-Mobile COO and President (who will be CEO of the new company as of May), said that with the new agreement in place, the focus is on closing the transaction and creating the new T-Mobile company "as early as April 1, 2020."

"We are on the verge of being able to do what we've set out to do from day one - reshape a broken wireless industry and create the new standard for consumers when it comes to value, speed, quality and service. The New T-Mobile is literally going to change wireless for good and now we're almost ready to get to the fun part: bringing our teams together, building this supercharged Un-carrier and becoming the envy of the wireless industry and beyond!"

The merger between Sprint and T-Mobile was able to proceed after a judge in early February ruled that the deal could go on despite an antitrust lawsuit filed by attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia.

The states argued that combining T-Mobile and Sprint was not in the public's interest as it would reduce competition and lead to higher smartphone bills, but T-Mobile's pro-consumer efforts that spurred changes in the smartphone industry weighed in the merger's favor.

The combined company will be known as "New T-Mobile" and it will be the third largest carrier in the United States after Verizon and AT&T.

T-Mobile and Sprint have committed to building a nationwide 5G network covering 97 percent of the U.S. population in three years and 99 percent within six years. T-Mobile has promised not to raise prices for three years following the merger's completion, and plans to offer the same or better rate plans even when 5G connectivity is available.

To gain regulatory approval from the FCC, T-Mobile and Sprint were required to sell some of their assets to Dish, as the FCC wants to see Dish become the fourth nationwide facilities-based wireless carrier in the United States.

Article Link: T-Mobile and Sprint Aiming to Close Merger as Early as April 1

 

[CyberBob859]

Appropriate - April Fools Day

 

[Techwatcher]

Glad this is finally over with.

 

[Wide opeN]

Definitely glad it's over. Also, ready to continue to see T-Mobile rise to the number 1 spot.

 

[Agent OrangeZ]

Appropriate - April Fools Day

Yep... Those AG's are fools to not try to score a deal for their states.... instead suing and losing. These people don't see the bigger picture..... sure we are losing a national carrier.... but the 5G buildout will create an alternative broadband provider to those who have been stuck with one cable company/teleco monopolizing the markets they operate in. The next couple of years are going to be exciting with 5G and Starlink launching!

 

[BornAgainMac]

Now for the merger for AT&T and Verizon.

 

[brucemr]

T-Mobile marketing machine has already rolled out 5G to majority of USA by using low band frequency. Which provides long distance signal but only small increase in data speed. Sprint merger gives them mid band 5G that Sprint owned, less distance but much bigger speed.

Verizon...mm wave 5G? Yes the ultimate fastest, but distance not much more than WiFi router.?

 

[The Barron]

Now for the merger for AT&T and Verizon.

Now you're talking an 800 lb gorilla there. That would beat the pants off the T-Mobile/Sprint deal.

 

[seanmcbay]

I’m on T-Mobile. How much will this improve service?

 

[konqerror]

April 1 is likely due to the fact that Sprint is largely owned (84%) by the Japanese SoftBank Group and April 1 is almost always the start of Japanese companies' fiscal year.

 

[lJoSquaredl]

I have no idea what this means, but I've always had Verizon tho I've been eyeballing T-Mobile. Was always worried about service, this makes it at least better I guess.

 

[Attirex]

Next: merger of T-Mobile, ATT, and Verizon to form......Ma Bell?

 

[Zaft]

T-Mobile is salivating over the 2.5ghz

 

[GRT89521]

I’m on T-Mobile. How much will this improve service?

Likely very little. I also have t-mobile and I love the low price compared to what I paid with at&t but the service is below average compared to the other two guys. I am happy with t-mobile but I’m not expecting any miracles.

 

[google]

So basically the public share owners are getting screwed getting .1 share lol

My total shares might equate to one single Tmo share cause of this...bs

 

[konqerror]

So basically the public share owners are getting screwed getting .1 share lol

My total shares might equate to one single Tmo share cause of this...bs

That's the wrong way to think about it. You have to convert both into dollars. Sprint's stock price has been about $7, T-mobile has been around $82. Therefore, Sprint shares are worth a lot less, and should be traded appropriately.

 

[3rdiguy]

Apples birthday and the same day I got my first iPhone in 2011.

 

[spartan1967]

7 devices on Sprint (which by the way, works very well for me and my family everywhere we go). Can't wait to see what the new T-Mobile will offer us to stay.

 

[fjd726]

Tmobile has horrible indoor service where Sprint has full LTE indoors in my area. I do have Tmobile but hoping the indoor service improves.

 

[ThomasJL]

Appropriate - April Fools Day

April Fool’s Day is the day that Apple was founded. April 1, 1976.

 

[jeblis]

You’ve got to be kidding.

 

[Professor Rucy]

Worth it just to get Paul and the Sprintern off the air.

{Edit—I see Paul disagrees...}

 

[bigfatipod]

Now you're talking an 800 lb gorilla there. That would beat the pants off the T-Mobile/Sprint deal.

What’s crazy is almost/all(?)of these companies started out as one decades ago

 

[konqerror]

What’s crazy is almost/all(?)of these companies started out as one decades ago

Not really. Sprint was a completely independent company formed by the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRint) to sell services on their internal communication network, and to lay fiber along railroad tracks, as a result of AT&T's breakup and the opened competitive market.

T-Mobile US came from Voicestream and several other independent carriers; the majority owner is actually Deutsche Telekom, the former German government phone monopoly.

AT&T Wireless was the consolidation of a number of non-wireline carriers, largely in the Cellular One brand and was partially owned by the Japanese NTT DoCoMo. AT&T Wireless was then taken over by Cingular, which was a Baby Bell and consisted of former Bell System properties.

Verizon Wireless was actually 45% owned by the British Vodafone. A large part of Verizon Wireless was GTE's cellular systems. GTE was an independent phone company which existed in parallel but was unaffiliated with the Bell System

 

[BigHungry04]

Well, I was hoping that this didn't go through. I have Sprint, so I guess this will change my stuff. Darn.