SoftBank’s Chief Expects Merger Approval

SoftBank’s leader, Masayoshi Son, is the Japanese billionaire who controls Sprint. You have probably heard a lot about him these past few months while a merger between Sprint and T-Mobile has been discussed. If there’s one thing Son has made clear, it’s that he expects this merger to go through and will be extremely unhappy if regulators hinder the acquisition. Last week, Sprint agreed to pay about $40 per share to buy T-Mobile US Inc, a person familiar with the matter said, marking further progress in the attempt to merge the third and fourth-biggest U.S. mobile network operators. The New York Times reported, “Mr. Son has been happy to wield his bully pulpit, calling repeatedly for consolidation within the wireless industry ever since his company, SoftBank, first moved to buy a majority stake in Sprint nearly two years ago. The American-educated Japanese mogul has always dreamed big. His company moved into the wireless telecommunications industry only eight years ago by buying Vodafone’s Japan assets, and quickly sought to become that country’s biggest cell phone service provider. ” The FCC and U.S. Department of Justice will need to sign off on the agreement, but executives at both companies are moving forward as if they don’t require that approval. It’s uncertain how the regulators will rule, and how this merger will affect the industry. One aspect that’s been speculated upon is: who will run the combined company? Some suggest that industry maverick and CEO of T-Mobile, John Legere, would take on the job. Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has said in response that he wouldn't mind not taking the post, citing his age of 60 and his plans to do other things. Although Legere has taken the industry by storm, we’ll have to see if he works well with Son.