Softbank Corp., led by billionaire Masayoshi Son, had its credit rating cut to junk by Standard & Poor's after winning approval from the Federal Communications Commission for its $21.6 billion bid to buy Sprint Nextel Corp.
The rating was cut to BB+, the highest noninvestment grade, from BBB, with a stable outlook, S&P said in a statement Monday. The FCC announced Friday that the deal is in the public's interest, giving Son a position in the U.S. market.
Son, 55, wants to use the acquisition to help fulfill his ambition of making the Tokyo-based company the world's biggest mobile phone operator. Softbank won a bidding war for Sprint, the third-largest U.S. carrier, when it raised its takeover bid and Dish Network Corp. abandoned a competing proposal.