Sprint weighs deal-making to get bigger to survive

New York

MASAYOSHI Son, the Japanese telecommunications mogul, has always been known as an inveterate deal-maker. But amid a breakneck spree of investing in startups, Mr Son's most anticipated moves will likely involve an old-line phone service provider: Sprint.

The reason is clear. Sprint, controlled by Mr Son's SoftBank, has long lagged behind the two titans of American wireless, Verizon and AT&T, each of which has more subscribers than Sprint and T-Mobile combined. Mr Son has never let go of the idea that Sprint needs to get bigger to survive, and has had on-again, off-again discussions with T-Mobile.

Now, SoftBank is busy exploring a complex takeover of Charte…