US telecommunications giants T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to merge in a deal worth almost £19 billion.
The operators attempted to merge under former president Obama’s administration, but regulators blocked the deal. President Trump’s administration has taken a more relaxed approach to deals which have been criticised as being potentially anti-competitive.
Once merged, the companies will have around 130 million subscribers. Around 72.6 million will come from T-Mobile and 54.6 million from Sprint.
John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, said:
“I’m excited to announce that T-Mobile and Sprint have reached an agreement to come together to form a new company — a larger, stronger competitor that will be a force for positive change for all US consumers and businesses.”
The merged company will continue to operate under the T-Mobile brand and will be much closer to the size of the big two, AT&T and Verizon.
This is how the U.S market will look post-merger:
Verizon 143.6 million
AT&T 136.5 million
T-Mobile 130 million
Marcelo Claure, CEO of Sprint, comments: “This merger will create jobs and boost the U.S economy, as the combined company will invest approximately $40 billion (£29 billion) over the next three years.”
The negotiations leading up to today’s announcement had been going on for months between T-Mobile’s main shareholder Deutsche Telekom, and SoftBank who controls Spint. After the merger, Deutsche Telekom will hold 42 percent of the company, Sprint 27 percent, and the rest (31%) held by the public.
What are your thoughts on the T-Mobile/Sprint merger? Let us know in the comments.
