Sprint and T-Mobile agree to terms of merger
Sprint and T-Mobile have settled on the terms of a $32 billion deal that would further reshape the telecommunications industry, according to a person briefed on the matter.
Both sides have agreed on a set of terms that would see Sprint, which is majority-owned by Japan’s Softbank, acquire T-Mobile, creating a more formidable rival to the two largest wireless phone providers in the United States, Verizon and AT&T.
Sprint would pay about $40 a share in cash and stock for T-Mobile, about a 17 percent premium to Wednesday’s price, according to the preliminary agreement.
After the deal, Deutsche Telekom, the majority owner of T-Mobile, would own about 20 percent of the merged entity. Deutsche Telekom currently owns about 67 percent of T-Mobile
The deal is sure to face regulatory scrutiny, and the early terms of the deal would include a breakup fee of more than $1 billion that Sprint would pay T-Mobile if the deal is not consummated.
An announcement is still a ways off. The two sides have not conducted due diligence on one another, drafted a definitive agreement or arranged financing. A deal could be announced in July, but could come as late as August.
Bloomberg and the Wall Street Journal earlier reported that the companies had agreed on deal terms.