T-Mobile & Sprint said nearing agreement on merger, could sign deal in October

T-Mobile and Sprint are reportedly close to "tentative terms" on a long-rumored merger deal, and could finalize an agreement by the end of October.

T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom would own a majority stake in the combined company, while Sprint parent SoftBank would take somewhere between 40 and 50 percent, Reuters sources said on Friday. T-Mobile CEO John Legere would allegedly assume leadership.

The people cautioned that negotiations could still break down — any merger might also be stopped by U.S. regulatory agencies, given the narrow concentration of power in the telecommunications landscape.

While operating on a national scale, T-Mobile and Sprint have long sat in the shadow of the two biggest U.S. carriers, AT&T and Verizon. Even a merged entity, with over 130 million subscribers, would still be somewhat smaller.

SoftBank previously considered buying T-Mobile in 2014, but abandoned it in light of opposition by regulators. T-Mobile has grown substantially since then and in fact outpaced Sprint.

Any merger would have a particular impact on U.S. iPhone shoppers, especially as people buying direct from Apple must choose one of the major national carriers or go SIM-free, setting up with a carrier on their own. Today the company launched the iPhone 8 and 8 Plus in markets around the globe.

46 Comments

SpamSandwich 32917 comments · 19 Years

About 7 years ago

This merger should absolutely go forward. It was ridiculous it was opposed in the first place... and I say this as an AT&T stockholder.

tallest skil 43086 comments · 14 Years

SpamSandwich said:

This merger should absolutely go forward. It was ridiculous it was opposed in the first place... and I say this as an AT&T stockholder.

Just what we need: fewer companies in a marketplace…

lkrupp 10521 comments · 19 Years

SpamSandwich said:

This merger should absolutely go forward. It was ridiculous it was opposed in the first place... and I say this as an AT&T stockholder.

Ah, this brings back memories of when Randall Stephenson (aka The Randster) tried to buy T-Mobile and cost AT&T a few billion when the deal blew up in his face. He even got a ding in his salary and stock options over it as I recall. When I was still working for AT&T we used to have to sit and watch pep talks from Randall (don’t cha call me Randy) a couple of times a year. Looks like a used card salesman.

tshapi 372 comments · 13 Years

SpamSandwich said:

This merger should absolutely go forward. It was ridiculous it was opposed in the first place... and I say this as an AT&T stockholder.

T-Mobile is better than sprint. And honestly deserves a fighting chance against Verizon and at&t. This will ultimately provide T-Mobile with better coverage and spectrum. And I see it as a gift to all sprint users. Because there service I've heard sucks.

tallest skil said:

SpamSandwich said:

This merger should absolutely go forward. It was ridiculous it was opposed in the first place... and I say this as an AT&T stockholder.

Just what we need: fewer companies in a marketplace…

We need less regulation and more competition. As history has shown us time and again, businesses go through cycles of mergers and divestment to remain competitive, but if laws and requirements prevent competition (as was the case when AT&T was a monopoly), then consumers pay the price. There will always be new smaller, more responsive competitors to sluggish and unresponsive behemoths... as long as the behemoths cannot “legally” suppress competition.