Flamboyant T-Mobile CEO Legere Takes To Twitter To Taunt Sprint A Second Time
Watching T-Mobile chief John Legere handle business in the public eye is a lot like watching Monty Python and the Holy Grail for the first time -- you're caught off guard by silly shenanigans time and again and bouts of hysterical lunacy. Mind you, we're not saying Legere is a lunatic, and a look at T-Mobile's performance in recent quarters makes a strong argument that there's a method to his madness. Hell, we're just content to enjoy the wild ride, which at the moment is coming at the expense of Sprint.
Let's back up a moment. Back in June, Sprint, the nation's third largest wireless carrier, reportedly agreed to T-Mobile's $32 billion asking price to acquire the the fourth largest wireless carrier in the U.S., and all that was left was to hammer out some terms of the deal.
Two months later, there was still no definitive deal in place, so France's Illiad made a $15 billion all-cash offer for a 56.6 percent stake in T-Mobile. That bid valued T-Mobile at less than what Sprint was willing to pay, but more importantly, it signaled that something had gone awry between the two carriers. Sure enough, Sprint officially withdrew from the deal, and without skipping a beat, Legere resumed his trash talking on Twitter. He likened Sprint to a melting ice cube (suggesting the brand was no longer cool) and encouraged followers to "jump off the Sprint bus before it crashes."
Not even a week has passed and Legere is again taking to Twitter to taunt Sprint a second time. One might think Legere is taking the breakup personal, though he has a history of this sort of thing, and it's not always directed at Sprint.
Let's back up a moment. Back in June, Sprint, the nation's third largest wireless carrier, reportedly agreed to T-Mobile's $32 billion asking price to acquire the the fourth largest wireless carrier in the U.S., and all that was left was to hammer out some terms of the deal.
Two months later, there was still no definitive deal in place, so France's Illiad made a $15 billion all-cash offer for a 56.6 percent stake in T-Mobile. That bid valued T-Mobile at less than what Sprint was willing to pay, but more importantly, it signaled that something had gone awry between the two carriers. Sure enough, Sprint officially withdrew from the deal, and without skipping a beat, Legere resumed his trash talking on Twitter. He likened Sprint to a melting ice cube (suggesting the brand was no longer cool) and encouraged followers to "jump off the Sprint bus before it crashes."
Not even a week has passed and Legere is again taking to Twitter to taunt Sprint a second time. One might think Legere is taking the breakup personal, though he has a history of this sort of thing, and it's not always directed at Sprint.
Think @Sprint may need to turn to Kickstarter if they don’t make something happen for their customers soon! http://t.co/2ZC6pBqUN3
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) August 11, 2014
All you can do is shake your head and laugh, unless you're Sprint, in which you might be tempted to respond and get into a war of words. The problem with that strategy is that engaging in such tactics doesn't really fit with Sprint's brand, whereas we've come to expect this sort of thing from T-Mobile with Legere at the helm.
If you needed just one more reason to leave Sprint and join T Mobile….Now you might just have it….total Chaos at Sprint! #sprintlikehell
— John Legere (@JohnLegere) August 6, 2014
Where does Legere go from here? Well, about the think left to do at this point is hurl farm animals at Sprint (for those of you who don't get the reference, see below).
