It's not much of a surprise at this point, but the Federal Communications Commission has approved the tri-company merger deal involving Japanese carrier SoftBank, Sprint, and Clearwire. The FCC ruling follows Justice Department approval several weeks ago, and some delicious drama that ended with Dish Network being shut out of the deal.

SoftBank is throwing $21.6 billion at Sprint to acquire a 78% stake in the company. Sprint is now also free to buy the remaining 49% of Clearwire it doesn't already own, giving it a big juicy slice of wireless spectrum. Last we heard, Dish Network was licking its wounds after losing its bid for Sprint and insinuated it could go after Clearwire. However, Clearwire's board has recommended shareholders approve the Sprint buyout at a meeting on July 8th.

This was the last regulatory hurdle to be cleared, so it looks like smooth sailing from here on out. Sprint says it anticipates the daisy chain of deals to be completed this very month. Check below for the official statement.

[Sprint]