A new Reuters report today shares that SoftBank is willing to hand over control of Sprint to Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile to make a merger happen, according to unnamed sources close to the matter. Discussions haven’t begun yet, but are expected to start in April after the FCC auction of airwaves and anti-collusion ban is over.
With Verizon and AT&T both fighting to keep customers with new unlimited plans this week and 5G networks on the horizon, a merger could be mutually beneficial for Sprint and T-Mobile.
In 2014 roles were reversed for the 3rd and 4th most popular U.S. wireless carriers, as Sprint pursued a merger that would have given them controlling stake of T-Mobile.
With T-Mobile’s success in the last few years, Deutsche Telekom’s Chief has shared they won’t consider giving up a majority of T-Mobile.
There still may be roadblocks in regards to antitrust issues for a possible merger, yet the benefits could be well worth the effort as carriers will need to invest significant resources into 5G networks in the coming years and Sprint and T-Mobile face stiff competition from the U.S. frontrunners Verizon and AT&T.
SoftBank’s CEO Masayoshi Son committed to investing $50B in the U.S. which would create 50,000 jobs after meeting with President Trump last December. Some may wonder if SoftBank’s Vision Fund investment in the U.S. could help smooth a possible merger for Sprint and T-Mobile.
Son didn’t give anything away in a recent statement, but instead spoke about a range possibilities.
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Reuters shared that both of the carriers and their parent companies declined to comment on the situation.
