Despite the Japan’s Softbank already made a move to acquire US-based Softbank, Dish Network today announced that it has submitted a merger proposal to the Sprint Nextel Board of Directors for total cash and stock consideration of $25.5 billion, representing a 13% premium to the value of the existing SoftBank proposal.
The company is offering Sprint shareholders a total consideration of $25.5 billion, consisting of $17.3 billion in cash and $8.2 billion in stock, offering shareholders to receive $7.00 per share, based upon Dish closing price on Friday, April 12, 2013. The deal consists of $4.76 per share in cash while the total cash portion represents an 18% premium over the $4.03 per share of what SoftBank agrees on with.
“The DISH proposal clearly presents Sprint shareholders with a superior alternative to the pending SoftBank proposal,” said Charlie Ergen, Chairman of DISH Network. “Sprint shareholders will benefit from a higher price with more cash while also creating the opportunity to participate more meaningfully in a combined DISH/Sprint with a significantly-enhanced strategic position and substantial synergies that are not attainable through the pending SoftBank proposal.”
