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Andrew Martonik
Sprint and T-Mobile may actually, finally (no, really this time) be ready to announce a deal in which Sprint would take over its rival. According to reports from Bloomberg and Reuters, the carriers are nearing a deal where Sprint would buy T-Mobile for almost $40 per share, comprised of half stock and half cash. That's a total deal north of $32 billion, and a solid premium over the current price of T-Mobile, which has hovered around $34 per share ($27.5 billion valuation) recently.
Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of T-Mobile that currently holds 67 percent of its stock, reportedly wanted above $40 per share but has come to an agreement with Sprint's parent company SoftBank somewhere just shy of the number. In the end DT would retain roughly 15 percent of T-Mobile's stock after the deal, meaning Sprint would then have a controlling share of the company.
A breakup fee — which would be paid to T-Mobile in the event regulators shut the deal down — is also in discussion as part of the deal, and will be over $1 billion according to sources. This is much smaller than the $4 billion breakup fee that was paid to T-Mobile after AT&T failed to buy the carrier in 2011.
Source: Bloomberg; CNBC
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