FCC OKs Sprint-SoftBank merger

Japan’s SoftBank won a lengthy and complex bidding and regulatory fight today, and gained FCC approval to merge with the Kansas-based Sprint Nextel Corporation.

All three FCC commissioners voted to approve the merger, an act which also approves Sprint’s proposal to buy the remaining outstanding shares of Clearwire. According to Reuters:

“SoftBank's $21.6 billion deal to buy 78 percent of Sprint would mark the largest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese company as hard-driving billionaire SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son seeks to expand beyond the mature Japanese cellphone market.”

SoftBank had run up against a series of hurdles, including offers for Sprint and Clearwire from the Dish Network, and a series of challenges from Clearwire shareholders. But Dish dropped out when SoftBank nearly doubled its offered share price.

The FCC deliberated over whether the deals were in U.S. public interest, but in the end it approved the sale.

CWA asked the FCC that the deal include “specific requirements for Sprint in terms of build out and coverage, with three- and seven-year benchmarks for serving specific populations.”

At the moment, the details of the merger haven’t yet been released, however.

Sprint and Softbank Merger Approved: Sources (Reuters, Jul. 5, 2013)

SoftBank-Sprint-Clearwire review must include build-out, security (Speed Matters, Jan. 29, 2013)