T-Mobile agrees $26bn deal to buy rival Sprint - Ashdale Business Consulting

T-Mobile agrees $26bn deal to buy rival Sprint

 

US wireless carrier T-Mobile has announced a $26bn (£18.9bn) acquisition of Sprint Corp.

The all-stock deal would see the companies – third and fourth-largest in the US telecoms industry – combine to serve 127 million customers and employ more than 200,000 people.

The agreement is likely to attract regulatory scrutiny, with concerns over competition and fears it could mean higher prices for customers, as a combined company would not have to offer as many promotions to lure new users.

John Legere, president and chief executive of T-Mobile US, said: “This combination will create a fierce competitor with the network scale to deliver more for consumers and businesses in the form of lower prices, more innovation, and a second-to-none network experience – and do it all so much faster than either company could on its own.”

There are also concerns over employment, with The Communications Workers of America union saying the deal will cost at least 20,000 US jobs.

But Mr Legere said on Twitter: “From day one, the new T-Mobile will always have more US employees on payroll than both standalone companies.

“Last year we added 27,000 jobs associated with our growth, and there’s no reason we can’t grow at the same rate.”

Deutsche Telekom currently owns more than 63% of T-Mobile, while Japan’s SoftBank owns 84.7% of Sprint.

Click here to read more (Source: BBC News)