Sprint Nextel Corp ("Sprint"), the third largest
wireless carrier in the United States, recently found itself to be
a very sought after wireless services provider. Not necessarily by
customers, as Sprint lost more than 250,000 subscribers during the
first quarter of 2013. Instead, Sprint found itself weighing
competing takeover offers – a $20.1 billion offer from
SoftBank Corp. ("SoftBank"), a Japan based
telecommunications company, and a $25.5 billion offer from DISH
Network Corp. ("DISH"), a U.S. satellite television
provider.
The parties spent several months arguing their various positions
to the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC"), until
DISH ultimately withdrew its offer at the end of June and the FCC
consented to the SoftBank transaction on July 3, 2013. The
Softbank/Sprint deal closed on July 10, 2013 nine months after
talks began last October. The transaction is a good opportunity to
explain the FCC's role in the merger and acquisition
