Japanese carrier is allegedly in talks with three Japanese banks to secure financing for a possible Sprint acquisition, according to a Reuters report. Softbank could buy a majority stake in the US carrier, but it would be a risky venture warns some brokerages. The Japanese carrier already carries a net debt of about $10 billion and acquired $2 billion when it recently bought smaller Japanese carrier eAccess. Sprint has about $15 billion in net debt. With a combined debt in the $20-$30 billion range, some analysts are concerned that Softbank may be biting off more than it can chew.
According to the Reuters report, Softbank may be looking to borrow as much $23 billion in a bid to buy Sprint and possibly MetroPCS. T-Mobile and MetroPCS are in the rely stages of a merger and a n attractive counter bid from Softbank/Sprint could disrupt that process.
[Via Reuters]