The New T-Mobile May Officially Become Reality April 1
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The New T-Mobile, or the company that will be created as a result of the T-Mobile-Sprint merger, could arrive as soon as April 1. (And that’s not an April Fool’s joke.)
Following a report by The Wall Street Journal, both of the telecom companies announced this week that they’ve finalized the new terms for their merger. The new terms were largely necessary due to a slide in Sprint shares since the merger was first agreed upon.
As part of the new deal, T-Mobile owners will receive roughly 11 shares of Sprint for each of their stocks, up from the original 9.75 rate. The new terms won’t require another shareholder vote, however.
The move is also much more favorable for T-Mobile’s German parent company, Deutsche Telekom AG.
As part of the new terms, the German company will own 43 percent of The New T-Mobile. Sprint’s majority owner, Softbank, will own 24 percent, while public shareholders will retain 33 percent.
T-Mobile and Sprint have received a series of green lights by various regulatory bodies in the past year. And just earlier this month, the merger received approval from a judge presiding over a case brought on by a lawsuit from 13 states and Washington, D.C.
In a statement, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said that today’s announcement of new terms is “another significant step forward toward closing this transaction.”
“Through this journey, T-Mobile and Sprint have been singularly focused on one thing: building a supercharged Un-carrier that will offer U.S. consumers a broad and deep nationwide 5G network, more choice and greater competition,” Legere said.
Legere will step down from his role as CEO when The New T-Mobile launches, replaced by current T-Mobile COO Mike Sievert. Legere is still expected to sit on the board of directors, however.
As part of the original deal, T-Mobile and Sprint have promised not to raise prices and to make their primary goal the rollout of a coast-to-coast 5G network. Justice Department stipulations will also make Dish the fourth largest telecom provider in place of Sprint.
It isn’t clear when the deal could officially close, but T-Mobile and Sprint say it’s their goal to seal it by April 1.