As you guys might have heard by now, Sprint and T-Mobile are reportedly interested in merging with one another. Both carriers have expressed interest in the past, and thanks to a recent report from Nikkei, it has been reported that both companies are close to finalizing the deal with one another, meaning that we can expect an announcement in the near future once it has been finalized.
According to the reports, there will be eight major banks who will be financing the transaction. T-Mobile USA’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom has given the deal their blessing, although we should note that the deal will still require approval from regulatory bodies before it has been officially completed.
What this means is that even if Sprint and T-Mobile come to an agreement, but regulators disapprove of it, then the deal is as good as dead. Oddly enough both carriers have continued to push on with their deal despite initial apprehensiveness from regulators and the competition. Previous reports have suggested that the FCC is dead set against the deal, and that AT&T themselves have expressed skepticism that the deal would be approved.
However Softbank’s CEO, who owns a majority stake in Sprint, believes that they will be able to convince regulators to allow the deal to proceed. We guess we’ll just have to wait and see, but what do you guys think? Will this deal be approved?