The Associated Press has reported Japanese firm Softbank Corp. has reached agreement to buy 70 percent of mobile carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. for $20.1 billion in the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.
The agreemen , announced at a joint news conference in Tokyo by Softbank President Masayoshi Son and Sprint Chief Executive Dan Hesse, will bring together the third biggest mobile carriers of Japan and the United States.
The deal was given a green light by the boards of both companies. It still needs approval from Sprint shareholders and U.S. regulators. Softbank said the transaction is expected to be completed by the middle of next year.
The combination of Softbank and Sprint will tie with AT&T for world’s No. 3 mobile company by revenue after China Mobile and Verizon, according to Softbank.
