Softbank Corp. is in talks with Sprint Nextel Corp. over a "substantial" investment to take control of the Kansas-based company, in a move that could potentially reshape the U.S. telecommunications industry, two sources said Thursday.
Softbank, Japan's third-largest mobile phone company, also plans to acquire MetroPCS Communications Inc. through Sprint Nextel, the Nikkei newspaper reported the same day, without citing its sources.
Softbank and Sprint Nextel are still negotiating over the price, and while about $6.50 per share has been discussed, no agreement has been reached yet, said one of the first-cited sources.