SoftBank Negotiating Sale of T-Mobile Shares with Deutsche Telekom

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] On the 18th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others reported that Japan's SoftBank Group is discussing a plan to sell its stake in the U.S. telecommunications company T-Mobile to the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom.

According to WSJ, citing sources, if this deal is finalized, Deutsche Telekom's ownership stake in T-Mobile will increase from 44% to over 50%. SoftBank currently holds about a 25% stake in T-Mobile, and Deutsche Telekom already has control over T-Mobile through an agreement with SoftBank.

T-Mobile completed its merger with another U.S. mobile carrier, Sprint, earlier last month. As a result, it has established a "big three" structure in the U.S. mobile market alongside Verizon and AT&T. WSJ, citing sources, reported that the 48.8 million T-Mobile shares SoftBank gave up for the merger are expected to be reissued and rights maintained if the stock reaches a certain level within two years.

Since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), SoftBank has been selling off assets one after another due to poor investment performance. SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son announced in March that he would secure liquidity through asset sales.

SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom are still negotiating the scale of the sale. However, WSJ explained that since T-Mobile's market value reaches $120 billion, the scale is expected to be substantial, but the agreement has not been fully finalized.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.