Softbank has increased its ownership of Sprint to almost 80% because it is optimistic on the U.S. mobile operator’s future, it announced late last week.
The Japanese telco said it bought 22.87 million shares for US$86.91 million, or around 10.86 billion yen (€78 million), increasing its stake by just over half a percentage point to 79.99%.
"The company has dedicated significant resources to optimising Sprint’s network strategy and is supporting the development of innovative lease financing structures," Softbank said, in a statement.
"In light of these and other turnaround initiatives, the company is confident in Sprint’s future prospects, and therefore decided to carry out the additional purchases," it added.
Sprint lost its position as the third largest mobile operator in the U.S. last quarter when it recorded fewer net additions than arch-rival T-Mobile US. At the end of June Sprint had 56.8 million mobile customers to T-Mobile’s 58.9 million.
Nonetheless, Sprint held on for longer than many in the industry predicted and is establishing itself as a more credible competitor in the market under the leadership of Marcelo Claure, who took on the CEO role a year ago.
Last week Sprint announced the extension of Claure’s contract until 31 May 2019; it had been due to expire tomorrow (Tuesday). It also awarded Claure an incentive package of 10 million shares, should he push Sprint’s average share price to $8 or above. At present the company is trading at around the $4 mark.
However, rumours of a takeover continue to swirl.
Softbank chief executive Masayoshi Son insists he remains committed to Sprint, but some say he has little choice in the matter, having failed to find a buyer for the telco.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Softbank attempted to line up takeover deals with the likes of U.S. cable operator Comcast and one of Europe’s most aggressive acquirers Altice. Both came to nothing, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.
