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US: Sprint/T-Mobile done talking merger

By  |  November 5, 2017

In the latest episode of what feels like a soap opera, Sprint and T-Mobile announced on Saturday, November 4, that they have officially called off merger talks again.

Both Sprint parent SoftBank Group Corp and T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG showed an unwillingness to part with too much of their US telecom assets.

Sprint and T-Mobile said they ended talks because the companies “were unable to find mutually agreeable terms.”

The news was greeted as good news by some people who claim that the continuance of four major wireless telecoms in the US will keep prices down. Erik Gordon, a Ross School of Business professor at the University of Michigan said, “Consumers are better off without the merger because Sprint and T-Mobile will continue to compete fiercely for budget-conscious customers.”

The failure of these merger talks leaves Sprint looking for a new direction as it is in the middle of a turnaround plan and has sought to strengthen its balance sheet by cutting costs while being weighed down with total debt of US$38 billion, has few financial options.

Full Content: Reuters

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