Japanese mobile operator Softbank Corp will announce later on Monday a deal to acquire control of U.S. carrier Sprint Nextel Corp, a source familiar with the matter said, with the likely $20 billion price tag the most any Japanese firm has paid for an overseas takeover.The deal, to be announced at a news conference at 0800 GMT, would give Sprint ammunition to potentially acquire peers and build out its 4G network to compete better in a U.S. wireless market dominated by AT&T and Verizon. Sprint said it would a special webcast at 4 a.m. Eastern Time - coinciding with the planned Tokyo briefing.Shares in Softbank - whose billionaire founder and CEO Masayoshi Son is known for his risky bets - tumbled as much as 8.1 percent on Monday, and have lost more than a fifth of their value since news first broke of the firm's interest in Sprint. Investors are concerned that Son may be offering too much to enter the United States telecommunications market.Under the deal taking shape, Softbank would purchase $3 billion of bonds convertible into Sprint stock at $5.25 a share, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. It would also buy $5 billion in stock directly from Sprint, and offer $7.30 a share for stock it buys in the public markets. Sprint shares closed on Friday at $5.73.
Sprint Nextel Corporation (Sprint) is a holding company, with its operations primarily conducted by its subsidiaries. Shares of S fell by 0.52% or $-0.03/share to $5.73. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $2.10 and as high as $6.04. On average, 78311000 shares of S exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 133525008.
Source
