OVERLAND PARK — A Japanese cellphone company has offered to buy 70 percent of Sprint-Nextel’s shares for $20.1 billion. Softbank of Toyko announced Monday it will buy the Overland Park-based Sprint Nextel, pending bondholders and regulators’ approval. The extra cash puts Sprint in position, to compete with larger rivals Verizon and AT&T. It also allows the company to pay down billions of dollars in debt, and expand its next generation wireless network. ABC News reports that Sprint shares saw a 14 percent boost since word of the deal leaked late last week. Shares of Softbank, Japan’s second largest wireless carrier, tumbled to a 5-month low on Monday. This is the company’s first venture into the U.S. market. Softbank boss Masayoshi Son has frequently visited the U.S. and has been sharply critical of what he calls extremely slow wireless connections in the U.S. Japan has much faster cellular signals and users can download huge amounts of data at high-speed and at lower prices, he said. Although he hasn’t promised the same for the U.S, analysts say that Son could crank up speeds and make the number-3 Sprint a fierce competitor to the larger Vorizon and AT&T. “They’re a real Internet-run company, said Sprint VP Bill White in Overland Park.. “They bring that kind of savvy here to Sprint.” Softbank says it intends to keep Sprint operations in the Kansas City area.
Tuesday, Oct. 16, 3 p.m.
