Sprint has gone from ugly duckling to belle of the ball recently, with two large corporations in a heated battle to woo shareholders and executives with large dowries. Japan-based SoftBank Corp. first offered $20.1 billion for 70% ownership of Sprint, an offer that resulted in an unsolicited $25.5 billion offer from Dish Network. SoftBank and Dish have been waging campaigns against one another since then, including the establishment of a Dish Network-backed website which claims that a SoftBank/Sprint deal would threaten national security and individual privacy. SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, is looking to expand into the US wireless market at any cost, and said today that he considers a T-Mobile acquisition to be a viable back-up plan should the Sprint deal hit an impasse. Dish’s chairman and co-founder, Charlie Ergen, has not been shy about revealing his plans for Sprint: to bundle mobile phone services with satellite TV and internet services. 

In response to Dish’s offer, SoftBank increased its original offer on June 11 and earned the support of several key Sprint board members. The offer now stands at $21.6 billion, with SoftBank controlling 78% of Sprint and kicking an additional $3 billion back to Sprint shareholders. Dish Network has been given a June 18 deadline to make a “best and final” offer, which will likely be the deciding factor in which of these corporations will absorb Sprint and its jointly-owned Clearwire Corp, the high speed wireless network that factors heavily into plans for both SoftBank and Dish. Unfortunately for SoftBank, Clearwire is endorsing the Dish/Sprint deal, while many high-level Sprint executives and board members are endorsing the SoftBank/Sprint deal. While it seems like the Dish/Sprint deal is highly unlikely, you never know what will happen when two billionaire CEO’s duke it out for control of a suddenly attractive underling.

Because of the local connection, this story has several implications for Kansas Citians. It may very well be that the SoftBank/Sprint deal is best for our local economy. Sprint has struggled in recent years to provide quality and reliable mobile phone service, and their market position has dropped to reflect those struggles. If SoftBank takes over operations, it could mean revamped efforts to improve service, which could mean more jobs and, eventually, increased revenues for the Overland Park-based company. If Dish takes over, it could mean maintaining status quo and offering the same old cut-rate mobile phone service at a cheaper price when bundled with satellite and internet service. However you feel about the deal, keep an eye on the news in the next week as several important dates are coming up: the June 18 deadline for Dish to submit a “best and final” offer and a June 25 vote to determine whether Sprint’s board will accept the SoftBank offer. Either way, it appears that Sprint will be under new management soon.

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