SoftBank sweetened its offer to acquire Sprint by an additional $4.5 billion, bringing the total cash consideration available to Sprint stockholders to $16.64 billion.
Sprint’s Special Committee and Board of Directors unanimously approved the amended merger agreement and have unanimously recommended to stockholders to vote FOR the revised SoftBank transaction. The company’s board also said it has ended discussions with DISH due to a lack of an “actionable offer. There is now a deadline of June 18, 2013 for DISH to provide its “best and final” offer. Sprint and SoftBank have rescheduled a Special Meeting of Stockholders from June 12, 2013 until June 25, 2013.
Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of Softbank, stated: “The amended agreement announced today delivers more upfront cash to Sprint stockholders, while still achieving our goal of creating a well-capitalized Sprint that is better positioned to bring meaningful competition to the US market. Our transaction offers significant value for Sprint stockholders and the opportunity to realize that value in just a few weeks, without the risks associated with any other potential transaction. We look forward to working with the Sprint management team to accelerate the build out of a nationwide LTE network, increase competition in the US market and drive subscriber growth in the years ahead.”
