SoftBank gives Sprint waiver to discuss proposed Dish merger

Although Japanese carrier SoftBank has been courting Sprint for the past several months, it’s apparently willing to let the carrier see other companies. Sprint announced on Monday that it had received “a waiver of various provisions of the merger agreement” with SoftBank so that it can enter into a non-disclosure agreement and discussions with Dish to learn more about its competing merger proposal. Sprint may not enter into negotiations with Dish under the waiver, nor is it allowed to give Dish any non-public information. Instead, the point of the talks is to decide whether Dish’s offer represents a better deal for the company that would give it ample reason to break off its merger with SoftBank.