After multiple failed attempts, wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to an all-stock merger valed at $26 billion, the companies announced on Sunday.
Sprint and T-Mobile have agreed to a $26 billion merger
Current T-Mobile CEO John Legere will lead the combined company, which will be called T-Mobile.
The newly combined company, which will be called T-Mobile, will be led by current T-Mobile U.S. CEO John Legere and T-Mobile COO Mike Sievert, according to a joint release. Sprint CEO Marcelo Claure and Masayoshi Son, the CEO of Sprint’s parent company, SoftBank, will serve on the board of the new company.
Two previous attempts at merging the two companies have failed, most recently because the companies could not come to an agreement about control of the new entity; before that, because of regulatory scrutiny.
The long-rumored deal still has to get regulatory approval. Under the previous administration, former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler criticized the idea of two of the four major wireless carriers merging, expressing concern that fewer companies would be bad for consumers. His successor, Ajit Pai, has not drawn as hard a line in the past.
“The combination of these two dynamic companies can only benefit the U.S. consumer,” Claure said in a statement. “Both Sprint and T-Mobile have similar DNA and have eliminated confusing rate plans, converging into one rate plan: Unlimited.”
If approved, the new entity — which will have about 100 million cellphone customers — will be controlled by T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom.
T-Mobile and Sprint argue that the merger would enable the new entity to effectively build out a nationwide 5G network — a feat the companies claim even AT&T and Verizon could not do alone.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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