Sprint said to be halting talks of T-Mobile merger

Sprint feels a deal that meets regulatory approval would be impossible

According to sources at the Wall Street Journal, Sprint is said to be abandoning any plans for a proposed T-Mobile merger or buyout. According to these sources at Sprint, the regulatory challenges are too steep to further the idea, as there were serious doubts within the company about reaching any deal between the two companies that would be approved by regulators.

This makes the talk of Iliad's $15 billion bid for control of T-Mobile much more interesting, though reports today have said that T-Mobile has rejected Iliad's initial $33 per share offer. It's worth noting that Iliad isn't trying to buy T-Mobile outright, but just purchase a controlling interest in the company.

Supposedly, Sprint will give an official announcement on the matter early Wednesday. We're waiting for the official story on this one, but it certainly sounds like dreams of a Sprint and T-Mobile combined force to take on AT&T and Verizon are dead.

Source: WSJ (paid content)