Japanese Cell Phone Company And Sprint Announce Deal

Tokyo-based mobile phone company Softbank Corp. has reached a deal to acquire 70 percent of Sprint Nextel for $20 billion.

Softbank will pay Sprint shareholders $12.1 billion dollars.  The deal also includes $8 billion of new capital and will bring together the third biggest mobile carriers of both Japan and the U.S.

Boards of both companies gave the deal a green light. It still needs approval from Sprint shareholders and U.S. regulators.

It's the largest ever foreign acquisition by a Japanese company.

The deal was announced at a joint news conference in Tokyo.