Softbank plans to break off negotiations on a merger of Sprint and T-Mobile US, the Nikkei reports. While the Japanese company reached a broad agreement with T-Mobile owner Deutsche Telekom, they were unable to finalise the last details, the report said. In particular, Softbank did not want to give up control of Sprint to the larger shareholder Telekom.
The German parent had insisted on a controlling stake, a source familiar with the situation said. Some at Softbank were initially amenable as long as the Japanese company retained some influence. However, Softbank's board discussed at a meeting 27 October that the company would not give up control. The decision was made 30 October to call the talks off, and Deutsche Telekom would be informed the following day, the report said.
Reuters and Dow Jones both confirmed that SoftBank was hesitant to give up control of Sprint. Other sources told CNBC that T-Mobile and Sprint were running into governance and pricing issues, but Softbank was not ready to call off the talks.
