SoftBank Has a Big Sprint Problem on Its Hands Without T-Mobile

  • No truly good options if $26.5 billion deal falls apart
  • No. 4 carrier is deep in debt, and other suitors may be few
Masayoshi SonPhotographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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No one has more riding on Sprint Corp.’s $26.5 billion sale to T-Mobile US Inc. than SoftBank Group and its founder Masayoshi Son.

Sprint has been going broke for more than a decade, and the wireless carrier’s executives have told regulators the company faces “serious challenges” if the takeover by T-Mobile is blocked. With a $19 billion stake in Sprint, SoftBank will bear the brunt of the fallout if the deal collapses.