IDG News Service - Softbank will acquire a 70% stake in Sprint Nextel, with the boards of both companies agreeing to the deal, which will be announced Monday, according to CNBC.
Japan's third-largest wireless carrier will pay $20 billion for the majority stake in Sprint, which is the third-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., the business news site reported Sunday, citing sources "close to the situation." Softbank will pay $5.25 per share and the deal will not need a shareholder vote, the report said.
Sprint will in turn use the $3 billion in proceeds it gets from the deal with Softbank to buy partner company Clearwire, although that announcement will not come Monday, CNBC said.
Japan's main daily business newspaper Nikkei first reported last Thursday that Softbank and Sprint were in talks about an acquisition deal. Softbank at the time declined to comment on what it termed "speculation," but Sprint later that day in the U.S. confirmed that the companies were negotiating a deal that could potentially lead to Softbank making a "substantial" investment in Sprint.
A day later, the newspaper reported that Softbank is also considering making a competitive bid for MetroPCS, which is in final negotiations to merge with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile USA.
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