SoftBank calls off T-Mobile and Sprint merger: reports

Rival wireless carriers Sprint and T-Mobile have ended merger talks after failing to agree on which side would have majority ownership of the combined company, Nikkei Asian Review reported.

SoftBank-owned Sprint and Deutsche Telekom-backed T-Mobile have been in extended, active talks about a stock-for-stock merger that would leave Deutsche Telekom as the majority owner of both carriers.

But according to reports, SoftBank's board met last week and reversed their position, determining that Sprint would not give up majority control of the combined company. The board decided on Monday to call off the merger talks. Deutsche Telekom was concerned over Sprint's valuation, Bloomberg reported.

The two companies previously held merger talks in 2014, with Sprint at the time angling to become the majority owner of the two carriers. But the $32 billion transaction collapsed amid antitrust concerns by the U.S. Department of Justice.   

The long-sought deal came back to life earlier this year, with T-Mobile CEO John Legere suggesting that a Sprint merger could be a "a potential future outcome" thanks to the softened regulatory environment under President Donald Trump and the new head of the Federal Communications Commission.