SoftBank nears deal for Sprint Nextel Softbank will acquire the US group at a time when every major operator is scrambling for spectrum SoftBank and Sprint Nextel are expected to announce a deal on Monday morning that will see the Japanese telecommunications group acquire about 70 per cent of the US mobile phone operator for about $20bn, say people familiar with the matter. In a deal that will reshape the US wireless industry, SoftBank chief executive Masayoshi Son will gain control of the third-largest US wireless operator by subscribers, giving him influence over the future of the industry at a time when every major operator is scrambling for spectrum. People familiar with the deal said final terms were still being worked out on Sunday night and that details of financing, and exactly how SoftBank would acquire its shares, had yet to be determined. An arrangement being discussed last week, which could still prove a template for the deal, would have Sprint issue new shares equivalent to just under 20 per cent of the company to SoftBank. SoftBank would then launch a tender offer for the remaining shares. On Sunday people familiar with the deal said SoftBank was likely to spend $8bn purchasing shares directly from Sprint at a price of $5.25 per share. SoftBank would then spend another $12bn buying shares at $7.30 apiece, a 27 per cent premium over Sprint's closing share price on Friday. But it remained unclear whether SoftBank would still pursue a tender offer to acquire the remaining shares, as final terms of the deal had yet to be agreed. SoftBank and Sprint declined to comment. The deal would be the largest acquisition of a US company by a Japanese buyer, and the latest example of Japanese corporates reasserting themselves as aggressive buyers on the global marketplace. For SoftBank, the deal would represent its first foray into a telecommunications market outside Japan, and an audacious bet that it can play a role in the consolidation of the US wireless sector. Two weeks ago T-Mobile, the US operator owned by Deutsche Telekom, announced plans to buy MetroPCS, the country's fourth-largest mobile operator. Sprint, which had considered making a bid for MetroPCS earlier this year, was said to be looking at making a rival bid. Other wireless operators, including Leap Wireless, are said to be takeover targets as well, as T-Mobile and Sprint try to grow to compete with the two largest US wireless operators, Verizon Wireless and AT&T. But SoftBank, which has been eyeing the US market since the summer and earlier held talks with T-Mobile about a deal, is said to be focused on acquiring only Sprint for the time being. Another piece of the puzzle is Clearwire, the high-speed internet provider in which Sprint owns about 50 per cent. People familiar with the deal say SoftBank wants to see Sprint take full control of that company, but that no deal for the remaining public shares will be announced on Monday. Additional reporting by Paul Taylor