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Rumours of Sprint attempting to put a bid on telecommunications competitor, T-Mobile, stretch back to December 2013. In May 2014, the rumours are definitely still alive, and according to a report from Bloomberg today, they might even be true. According to Bloomberg, Softbank, which is a 80% stakeholder in Sprint, has already been in discussions with banks to ensure that lenders would be ready when the time comes. If the move is green lit, however, it would be sure to draw the ire of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice as the merger of the 3rd and 4th largest U.S. networks would have immense influence over the landscape of the U.S. telco market, a fact that the chief of the FCC has previously affirmed.
It would certainly be one of the more high profile mergers in recent years should the process be approved. The result of the merger would likely be intriguing as Softbank and Deutsche Telekom, who own 67% of T-Mobile, are apparently still discussing who would lead the new merged company. One of Bloomberg’s sources apparently says that T-Mobile CEO, John Legere, is the front runner in this discussion, and there’s no doubt that many T-Mobile customers would emphatically support this decision. The bid by Sprint is likely to come some time in June or July, so we’ll know sooner or later whether Sprint is going to be able to do what AT&T couldn’t.
What do you think about a potential acquisition of T-Mobile by Sprint? Is your opinion different if John Legere were to lead this new merged company? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
Source: Bloomberg via TalkAndroid
