"SoftBank Announces Takeover of Sprint; Dips Its Toes into US Market"

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Japanese mobile phone company SoftBank has announced it is taking the majority control of US-based Sprint Nextel to the tune of $20 billion, making it the biggest overseas acquisition by a Japanese firm.

As reported previously, SoftBank will acquire 70 percent of Sprint, the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States after AT&T and Verizon. The acquisition also marks the Japanese firm’s first venture into the US market.

“This will be a big challenge—when you take on a big challenge, it comes with big risks,” SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, Japan’s second-richest man, admitted in a news conference in Tokyo Monday. “However, may avoiding the challenge is a larger risk.”

The takeover will also boost SoftBank’s subscribers to 90 million, vaulting the company to third spot worldwide among wireless carriers after China Mobile and Verizon.

As with any acquisitions in the US, the deal will undergo approval from Sprint’s shareholders and government regulators.

Source: The Telegraph