Softbank's $20 billion Sprint buy gets official

It’s official: Sprint (S) is getting bought up. Japanese wireless company Softbank (SFTBY) announced on Monday that it will pay just north of $20 billion to acquire a 70% stake in Sprint, which has long been languishing as the third-largest wireless carrier in the United States. As for specifics, Softbank says that $12.1 billion will be paid directly to Sprint’s shareholders while $8 billion will go toward strengthening Sprint’s balance sheet. The $20 billion deal has been approved by the boards of directors at both Softbank and Sprint, although the two companies still need approval from Sprint shareholders and the Federal Communications Commission. The Softbank deal could be a huge boost for Sprint since Softbank has a strong history of turning around smaller wireless carriers to compete with telecom giants.