New reports say that a merger of T-Mobile and Sprint could be agreed upon this weekend.
Sources tell Reuters that T-Mobile and Sprint are finalizing the terms of a merger deal and that an agreement could be reached in the next three days. With the terms currently being negotiated, T-Mobile majority owner Deutsche Telekom would own a little more than 40 percent of the combined company, say the sources, but would get voting control so that it can consolidate the company on its books.
These sources also cautioned that it's also possible that the negotiations could fall apart at the last minute.
Meanwhile, a report from Bloomberg has a little more info on the current merger talks. It's said that the current terms being discussed say that Deutsche Telekom would own 42 percent of the combined T-Mobile-Sprint but would get 69 percent of the voting interest.
Finally, sources tell The New York Times that T-Mobile and Sprint are in "advanced discussions" about a merger and that a deal could be announced as soon as this weekend.
Even if T-Mobile and Sprint do come to a merger agreement, the deal will need regulatory approval. Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler was against reduction of major U.S. carrier from four to three, but current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai may be a bit more open to the merger. "I don’t think any regulator who embraces regulatory humility and intellectual honesty about economics can say whether three or four or five is the optimal number," Pai said in a Recode interview last year.
Do you think a T-Mobile-Sprint merger deal will actually happen this time around?
