T-Mobile and Sprint call off merger talks

T-Mobile and Sprint have officially called off their merger talks after the two were “unable to find mutually agreeable terms,” the companies jointly announced.

The two mobile companies have been negotiating for years for a possible merger without success. In its announcement, Sprint’s President and CEO Marcelo Claure said that while they recognized the potential value in merging, “we have agreed that it is best to move forward on our own.” T-Mobile’s President and CEO John Legere outlined that any merger would have to bring in long-term value to his shareholders.

Had the two carriers combined, their customer base would have numbered more than 130 million, a number that could compete with industry giants Verizon and AT&T.

The merger talks between T-Mobile and Sprint date back to 2014 when Sprint began its pursuit to buy T-Mobile. The rumors got rekindled once again this September when both sides were reportedly close to reaching tentative terms. Those talks apparently collapsed last week as Sprint called them off.