After years of on and off discussions, it's finally happening: T-Mobile and Sprint are merging. The two companies have released official statements, confirming the merger will finally happen and how it will work. The merger will be an all-stock transaction, with Sprint valued at $59 billion and T-Mobile at $146 billion.

The combined company will be called T-Mobile, and will have "lower costs, greater economies of scale, and the resources to provide U.S. consumers and businesses with lower prices, better quality, unmatched value, and greater competition." It will be headquartered in Bellevue, Washington (where T-Mobile is currently based), with a second HQ in Overland Park, Kansas (Sprint's headquarters).

From a competition standpoint, the merger is a double-edged sword; Sprint exiting the market would leave fewer options for carriers, but the combined entity could give Verizon and AT&T a run for their money.

The announcement also heavily focused on 5G deployment, with T-Mobile and Sprint launching the AllFor5G.com site to explain why the merger would speed up the 5G rollout. T-Mobile's current CEO, John Legere, will serve as CEO of the new company. Sprint customers will be transitioned to T-Mobile's LTE network over the next three years (Sprint uses CDMA). In addition, subscribers on Sprint will be able to roam on T-Mobile's network for the next four years.

The merger presumably still has to go through FCC/FTC approval, so it's not a done deal quite yet.

PRESS RELEASE