What a roller coaster the past two months have been. T-Mobile and Sprint were first reported to be in merger talks in late August, with an announcement planned for the end of October. Everything seemed to be going well, but Sprint eventually pulled out due to ownership concerns. The combined carrier would have been majority owned by T-Mobile's parent company, which SoftBank and Sprint weren't happy about.

Just two days ago, T-Mobile's board of directors agreed to continue perusing a deal, and gave a counter-offer to Sprint (details are still unknown). It seems Sprint still wasn't interested, because the two companies have now released a joint statement ending the possibility of a merger. This is the first time either company has made a statement about the merger since talks began.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere said, "We have been clear all along that a deal with anyone will have to result in superior long-term value for T-Mobile’s shareholders compared to our outstanding stand-alone performance and track record." Sprint President and CEO Marcelo Claure said, "We know we have significant assets, including our rich spectrum holdings, and are accelerating significant investments in our network to ensure our continued growth."

So it seems, at least for now, T-Mobile and Sprint will stay separate. Judging by how many times this has been rumored over the years, I wouldn't be surprised to see them try it again in a year or two.

PRESS RELEASE