SoftBank And Sprint Have Officially Merged
At long last, it's a done deal. Sprint is no long walking on its own. Instead, it's now a part of SoftBank, a Japanese telecommunications giant. As of now, the two have completed their merged, with SoftBank to own around 78 percent of the shares involved in the "new" Sprint Corporation. Existing Sprint equity owners will hold on to the other bit. SoftBank is investing just under $22 billion in Sprint, onsisting of approximately $16.6 billion to be distributed to Sprint stockholders and an aggregate $5 billion of new capital ($1.9 billion at closing) to strengthen Sprint's balance sheet.
Each Sprint stockholder had the option to elect to receive one share of common stock in the new company or to elect to receive cash, subject to proration, for each share of Sprint common stock owned by that stockholder. Dan Hesse has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sprint Corporation and will serve on the board of directors. Masayoshi Son, founder, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank will serve as Chairman of the Sprint Corporation board of directors and Ronald Fisher, director of SoftBank and president of SoftBank Holdings Inc., has been appointed Vice Chairman. Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been named to the Sprint Corporation board of directors as Security Director. Robert Bennett, Gordon Bethune and Frank Ianna, who are currently members of the Sprint board, will also serve on the Sprint Corporation board of directors. SoftBank and Sprint have not yet determined the remaining members of the Sprint Corporation board of directors. The company's headquarters will remain in Overland Park, Kansas.
It's still unclear why exactly SoftBank wanted to move in on a carrier that has struggled in recent years, but at this point, we can finally count on both companies coming clear on their plans. After all, they're hitched... officially.
Each Sprint stockholder had the option to elect to receive one share of common stock in the new company or to elect to receive cash, subject to proration, for each share of Sprint common stock owned by that stockholder. Dan Hesse has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sprint Corporation and will serve on the board of directors. Masayoshi Son, founder, Chairman and CEO of SoftBank will serve as Chairman of the Sprint Corporation board of directors and Ronald Fisher, director of SoftBank and president of SoftBank Holdings Inc., has been appointed Vice Chairman. Admiral Michael G. Mullen, Former Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been named to the Sprint Corporation board of directors as Security Director. Robert Bennett, Gordon Bethune and Frank Ianna, who are currently members of the Sprint board, will also serve on the Sprint Corporation board of directors. SoftBank and Sprint have not yet determined the remaining members of the Sprint Corporation board of directors. The company's headquarters will remain in Overland Park, Kansas.
It's still unclear why exactly SoftBank wanted to move in on a carrier that has struggled in recent years, but at this point, we can finally count on both companies coming clear on their plans. After all, they're hitched... officially.
