The nation's third and fourth largest wireless service providers have agreed to a massive telecom merger following years of negotiations and two breakups. The deal gives the newly combined company an implied value of about $146 billion according to a press release from the company.
The two companies initially discussing merging their operations back in 2014, but that deal fell through over concerns that the Obama administration might challenge it. The companies say they believe they have a better shot avoiding regulatory challenges from the Trump administration.
T-Mobile CEO John Legere celebrated the merger on Twitter Sunday morning.
"I'm excited to announce that @TMobile & @Sprint have reached an agreement to come together to form a new company -- a larger, stronger competitor that will be a force for positive change for all US consumers and businesses! Watch this & click through for details."
Company officials say they plan on hiring thousands of people to build a nationwide 5G network and that they plan on delivering the "highest capacity network in U.S. history." The $26.5 billion deal is meant to better position the new company to take on industry leaders AT&T and Verizon.
“This combination will create a fierce competitor with the network scale to deliver more for consumers and businesses in the form of lower prices, more innovation, and a second-to-none network experience,” Legere said in the statement.
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