Sprint's merger with Japanese carrier SoftBank has been approved by Sprint's shareholders. At a special shareholder's meeting held today, the deal was overwhelmingly approved, with 98% of shareholders voting in favor to the merger. In a statement, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse noted that the deal would give Sprint more financial breathing room.

“Today is a historic day for our company, and I want to thank our shareholders for approving this transformative merger agreement,” said Sprint CEO Dan Hesse. “The transaction with SoftBank should enhance Sprint’s long-term value and competitive position by creating a company with greater financial flexibility.”

This flexibility may help Sprint become more of a competitor to rivals Verizon and AT&T, primarily by building out their LTE network, which still lags behind the top two carriers in the United States, despite continued activations across the country. Now that the deal has been approved by the shareholders, it must be examined by the Federal Communications Commission, a process which Sprint and Softbank expect to be completed soon, with the merger formally taking place early next month.

Source: Sprint