T-Mobile and Sprint have announced a merger that will create one of the largest telecom companies in the U.S. The deal is estimated to be worth about $26 billion. It will position the new company as a strong competitor to the other dominant companies in the space, Verizon and AT&T.
The announcement was made earlier today on Twitter by T-Mobile CEO John Legere.
“I’m excited to announce that @TMobile & @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! Watch this & click through for details,” he wrote.
Legere posted a video of he and Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure announcing the merger and explaining how consumers stand to benefit.
The two companies had been discussing a merger for years, with two previous attempts falling through. The most recent in 2014, was abandoned amid doubts that regulators from the Obama administration would approve the deal. The companies feel their chances are better in a Trump administration.
Masayoshi Son, CEO of Japanese conglomerate SoftBank met with President Trump shortly after the election in 2016 to talk up investments in the U.S. He pledged $50 billion in U.S. investment and the creation of 50,000 U.S. jobs at the time. SoftBank holds a majority stake in Sprint.
The merger is the latest in a string of large mergers in the U.S. AT&T is currently in talks with Time Warner for a deal estimated to be worth $85 billion. That deal is being held up by the U.S. Justice Department amid anti-trust concerns. A decision in the related court case could come down as early as next week.
Photo by Marco Verch via Flickr