US mobile operators T-Mobile and Sprint are in "active talks" about a merger, people close to the situation told CNBC. The all-stock deal is expected to give T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom a controlling stake in the merged operator.
Both companies and their parents, Deutsche Telekom and Softbank, have been in frequent conversations about a stock-for-stock merger, the report said. People close to the situation stressed that negotiators are still "weeks away" from finalizing a deal and believe the chances of reaching an agreement are not assured. The two sides have not yet set an exchange ratio for the stock swap.
The companies declined to comment on the report.
Other options for Softbank
Separately, Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son confirmed to Bloomberg he was interested in the deal. He said he had hoped to acquire T-Mobile since the Japanese company first took over Sprint in 2012. The third and fourth US operators are "a set, that was my strategy", he said.
Son said he has "another company as a possibility we may consider" should the deal fall apart. T-Mobile and Sprint already held merger talks in 2014, but the talks ended unsuccessfully due to regulatory opposition. Though Son didn’t specify what his other option was, a person familiar with his thinking told Bloomberg that the SoftBank chairman was referring to cable operator Charter Communications.
