Sprint in Talks With Charter, Comcast on Wireless Deal, WSJ Says

(Bloomberg) -- SoftBank Group Corp.’s Sprint Corp. is in talks with Charter Communications Inc. and Comcast Corp. to explore options including the possibility of the cable companies acquiring Sprint, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Though an outright takeover is a possibility, it is much more probable that the talks lean toward cooperation among the three companies and could involve Charter and Comcast buying stakes in Sprint, according to the Journal. The cable companies, which may invest in Sprint’s network in exchange for favorable terms to offer wireless services, have a similar so-called reseller arrangement with Verizon Communications Inc., according to the Journal.

Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son and the cable companies have reached an agreement to conduct exclusive talks about the matter through late July, according to the Journal. The discussions will put merger talks between Sprint and T-Mobile US Inc. on hold, according to the Journal.

To contact the reporter on this story: Young-Sam Cho in Hong Kong at ycho2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Robert Fenner