Japan's Softbank to buy 70% stake in U.S. mobile carrier SprintOctober 15, 2012 - 13:10 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Japan's Softbank Corp. said Monday, Oct 15 it will buy a 70% stake in U.S. mobile carrier Sprint Nextel Corp. for about $20 billion in the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese firm, MarketWatch reports. The deal is designed to carve a potentially lucrative opening in the U.S. for Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile carrier. At the same time, it will provide the third-largest U.S. wireless operator an immediate infusion of cash, helping it compete better with bigger rivals in one of the world's biggest and most lucrative markets for smartphones. In a statement, Softbank, which also has a range of Internet operations, said it would acquire a majority stake in the U.S. carrier by buying $8 billion of shares directly from Sprint and then buying another $12.1 billion of shares in the market. The deal would transform Softbank, a comparative newcomer in the telecommunications industry, into one of the world's largest telecoms groups with about 90 million subscribers once combined with Sprint. Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Titus, Bilirakis lead legislation to sanction Azerbaijani war criminals Representatives Dina Titus (D-NV) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) have introduced the bipartisan legislation. Azerbaijan must respect human rights, Scholz tells Aliyev German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for greater respect for human rights in Azerbaijan. Armenia: Defense Ministry warns against involving army in political processes The Ministry’s statement came after a video surfaced online, showing soldiers joining the protests in Tavush. Scholz hopes Armenia-Azerbaijan peace treaty will be signed this year German Chancellor Olaf Scholz hopes that a peace treaty between Armenia and Azerbaijan will be signed this year. |