SoftBank Corp. will spend $16 billion US over two years to fortify Sprint Nextel Corp.’s fourth-generation LTE mobile network in the U.S. and on other investments in the company, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said. SoftBank—which received approval last week by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to complete its $21.6 billion US acquisition of Sprint—will invest most of the $16 billion on base stations for Sprint’s LTE network, Son said Monday in an interview with Japanese news service Nikkei. He said that after 2014, the company would slow its investment in Sprint to about $6 billion US per year. The third-largest mobile carrier in its native Japan, SoftBank’s acquisition of Sprint is expected to inject capital into the third-largest U.S. carrier...
Softbank Corp. aims to strengthen its wireless holdings in the United States as Sprint Nextel Corp. said it reached a deal to acquire 100 per cent ownership of Clearwire Corp. for $2.2 billion US. Sprint, which said in October it would be acquired by Japanese mobile carrier Softbank, said in a release Monday it will purchase its remaining 50 per cent stake in Clearwire for $2.97 US per share and “strengthen its position and increase competitiveness in the U.S. wireless industry.” Sprint, based in Overland Park, Kansas, said it intends to use Clearwire’s 2500 MHz spectrum as the frequency is migrated to LTE. Clearwire is based in Bellevue, Wash. “Today’s transaction marks yet another significant step in Sprint’s improved competitive position and...