Sprint Nextel said it is considering selling a majority stake to Japan’s SoftBank, the latest deal among industry underdogs who are scrambling to catch up to Verizon Wireless and AT&T.
The company declined to provide details, but analysts who follow Sprint, the nation’s third-largest wireless carrier, said it would probably receive about $13 billion for selling a 75 percent stake to SoftBank. That deal could give Sprint some much-needed financial firepower to buy other companies.