Just weeks after being challenged by Dish Network in its acquisition hopes for Sprint Nextel, Japan’s Softbank raised the stakes in the bidding war today.
Adding another $1.5 billion to the offer, Softbank’s total bid for Sprint now stands at $21.6 billion.
At present, the nation’s third-largest carrier still has a $25.5 billion offer from Dish Network on the table.
Sprint, however, has said it’s determined that Dish will not be able to come up with an offer superior to Softbank’s, USA Today reported Tuesday.
It ended discussions with Dish and gave it a June 18 deadline for a best and final offer.
“The amended agreement announced today delivers more upfront cash to Sprint stockholders, while still achieving our goal of creating a well-capitalized Sprint that is better positioned to bring meaningful competition to the US market,” said SoftBank Chairman and CEO, Masayoshi Son.
“Our transaction offers significant value for Sprint stockholders and the opportunity to realize that value in just a few weeks, without the risks associated with any other potential transaction,” the Softbank boss concluded. “We look forward to working with the Sprint management team to accelerate the build out of a nationwide LTE network, increase competition in the US market and drive subscriber growth in the years ahead.”
