According to Bloomberg.com T-Mobile US Inc. agreed to acquire Sprint Corp. for $26.5 billion in stock, a wager that the carriers can team up to build a next-generation wireless network and get a jump on industry leaders Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc.
“‘We are going to have an impact on America,” John Legere, the T-Mobile boss who will serve as chief executive officer of the combined entity, said on a conference call Sunday. Rivals such as Verizon, AT&T and Comcast will have to respond, he said. “We are going to drag the rest of the players kicking and screaming to the prize, which is American leadership” in fifth-generation wireless networks.
The combination values each Sprint share at 0.10256 of a T-Mobile share, the companies said in a statement Sunday, or about $6.62 a share based on T-Mobile’s Friday closing price of $64.52. The ratio was originally fixed based on T-Mobile’s share price at the close on April 9, before news of the renewed talks emerged, and would have valued Sprint at $6.13 a share based on that price, one of the people said. News of the talks sent both companies’ stocks surging, adding to the valuation of the deal. Sprint closed Friday at $6.50 a share.