Japanese wireless service provider Softbank Corp. is looking to buy roughly 70 percent of Sprint Nextel in a bold move that would make it a major player in the US mobile market.
But Softbank’s ambitions may not stop with Sprint, which might also be looking to buy out its partner, Clearwire. The Japanese company might also be aiming to use Sprint as a vehicle to make a run at smaller Sprint peer MetroPCS, a two-step transaction that would potentially cost more than $25.55 billion, according to a Nikkei report.
That would make it the biggest overseas acquisition by a Japanese company ever and vault Softbank into the upper echelons of wireless carriers worldwide.
In response to reports of a pending deal, Sprint said that it was in talks with Softbank on a “potential substantial investment” that could involve a change in control of the US company.
Softbank is eyeing a controlling stake in Sprint worth more than $12.8 billion and is in talks with several banks to borrow money to finance a bid.
Sprint gained 14.3 percent to $5.76 on the New York Stock Exchange.