Although Sprint and T-Mobile have talked, made up, then broken up again more than Ross and Rachel (ask your parents), it now appear the two U.S. wireless carriers are no longer “on a break,” and are close to inking a merger deal.
The combined company would have more than 127 million customers and could create more formidable competition for the No.1 and No.2 wireless players, Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and AT&T Inc (T.N), amid a race to expand offerings in 5G, the next generation of wireless technology.
The merger talks could be completed as soon as next week.
T-Mobile majority-owner Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T), which controls Sprint, are considering an agreement that would dictate how they exercise voting control over the combined company, two of the sources said.
This could allow Deutsche Telekom to consolidate the combined company on its books, even if it does not have a majority stake in the combined company, one of the sources added. Deutsche Telekom owns more than 63 percent of T-mobile, while SoftBank owns 84.7 percent of Sprint.
The two companies have been involved in merger talks in the past, but they have always failed for one reason or another. Sprint parent company SoftBank was said to have ended previous talks due to its concern over losing control of the combined company after T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom requested a majority stake.
If the the pair do agree to merge, the combined company would have more than 100 million customers. Of course, the deal could fall through, just as previously expected merger deal have. So, we’ll simply wait and see whether or not these two crazy kids make it this time.
