(Bloomberg) -- T-Mobile US (NASDAQ:TMUS) Inc. priced its shares at $103 apiece in a $20 billion-plus deal that will let co-owner SoftBank Group Corp. offload a stake in the wireless carrier, CNBC reported.
The mobile-phone company, controlled by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG (DE:DTEGn), laid out plans for the deal on Monday, but hadn’t yet set a price for the shares. Nearly 200 million shares are changing hands as part of the complex transaction.
SoftBank agreed to pay T-Mobile $300 million as part of the transaction and will cover all fees and expenses related to the deal. The company became co-owners with Deutsche Telekom (OTC:DTEGY) of T-Mobile after the carrier merged with Sprint Corp. earlier this year.
At $103, the shares are selling at a discount to T-Mobile’s $107.16 closing price on Tuesday. They have gained 37% this year.
The deal, along with SoftBank plan to sell a 5% stake in its Japanese wireless subsidiary, is part of a broader $42 billion push to unload assets. The company aims to use the funds to finance stock buybacks and pay down debt. Masayoshi Son, the company’s founder, is dealing with steep losses in his Vision Fund after writing down the value of investments in the sharing economy from WeWork to Uber Technologies (NYSE:UBER) Inc.
SoftBank will now turn its attention to other assets in its portfolio and may pursue an outright sale of part of its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE:BABA) Group Holding Ltd. Son has said $11.5 billion raised from issuing contracts to sell stock in Asia’s largest corporation was a first step toward unwinding more of its holdings.
SoftBank “needs to further enhance its cash reserves,” the Japanese company said in a statement on Tuesday, citing concerns for “a second and third wave of spread of Covid-19.” The Japanese investment giant may invest the proceeds in high-quality securities until they are used for buybacks or debt reductions.
A stock offering due to trade on Wednesday was overseen by Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS)., Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C)., JPMorgan Chase (NYSE:JPM) & Co., Barclays (LON:BARC) Plc, Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)., Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. PJT Partners (NYSE:PJT), meanwhile, served as financial adviser to T-Mobile’s board.
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