Deutsche Telekom AG (T-Mobile) has agreed to a plan by Japanese mobile company Softbank Corp (Sprin) to buy T-Mobile US Inc, the fourth-largest U.S. mobile carrier, Kyodo news agency reported, citing industry sources. If the reports are true, the deal would come less than one year after SoftBank closed its $21.6 billion deal for a majority stake of Sprint. Deutsche Telekom owns two-thirds of T-Mobile US. A spokesman for Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. Softbank Chairman Masayoshi Son proposed the buyout in a meeting with top executives of T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom in mid-May and received a positive response, Kydo reported. SoftBank CEO and Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son have been loudly making a case for further consolidation in the U.S. wireless industry. Son’s arguments have suggested that a combined Sprint and T-Mobile would be better equipped to take on the “duopoly” of Verizon and AT&T as well as improve service and pricing for U.S. wireless consumers. U.S. regulators have thus far been cold on breaking up the current four-competitor landscape in the country. T-Mobile’s recent resurgence as a disruptive presence has reinforced the FCC’s and other regulators’ views. But with Comcast buying Time Warner and AT&T buying DirecTV, both in deals valued over $45 billion, Son has a point for renewal of his consolidation case.
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