SoftBank willing to cede control of Sprint to entice T-Mobile

NEW YORK: Japan's SoftBank Group Corp is prepared to give up control of Sprint Corp to Deutsche Telekom AG's T-Mobile US Inc to clinch a merger of the two U.S. wireless carriers, according to people familiar with the matter.SoftBank has not yet approached Deutsche Telekom to discuss any deal because the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has imposed strict anti-collusion rules that ban discussions between rivals during an ongoing auction of airwaves. After the auction ends in April, the two parties are expected to begin negotiations, the sources told Reuters this week.

Two and a half years ago, SoftBank abandoned talks to acquire T-Mobile for Sprint amid opposition from U.S. antitrust regulators.

That deal would have put SoftBank in control of the merged company, with Deutsche Telekom becoming a minority shareholder. T-Mobile was worth around $30 billion at the time, but its market value has since risen to more than $50 billion as it overtook Sprint as the No. 3 wireless carrier by subscribers. Sprint's market value is around $36 billion, roughly the same as in 2014.

Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Tim Hoettges has said in recent months that the German company is no longer willing to part with T-Mobile, prompting SoftBank to explore a new strategy towards a potential combination, the people said. Deutsche Telekom owns about 65 percent of T-Mobile.