At least so far, there has been no counter offer from Softbank for Sprint. That is not unexpected, given the surprise offer made by Dish Network , which apparently was learned of by Softbank directors only shortly before they began a scheduled board meeting. What remains now for Sprint directors is a tough assessment of the merits of each offer. Setting aside for the moment which offer is worth more, since that could change, which direction would give Sprint a greater chance to dramatically improve its fortunes in the U.S. market?
As most immediately would note, Dish Network has spectrum assets to contribute, and arguably is in a better position to reduce operating costs by eliminating "redundancies" and overlap in the Sprint and Dish Network operations.
Dish argues such savings might result in more than a billion dollars. But Softbank would bring more scale in the mobile segment of the business.
But either firm stands to gain something tactically, even if a strategic defeat occurs. Others would note that Softbank will be paid a $600 million breakup fee if its bid to buy Sprint were rejected. And Ergen has in the past managed to wring value out of other "bets."
Until recently, many observers were convinced Dish Network actually intended all along simply to acquire and then sell its spectrum holdings, and really had no intention of getting into the mobile business.
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