Brightstar founder will replace Dan Hesse, as Sprint board members vote against proceeding with the $32 billion acquisition of T-Mobile US
Sprint is set to appoint Brightstar founder Marcelo Claure as its new CEO, according to reports. He will replace Dan Hesse, who has led the US operator since December 2007.
Both Sprint and Brightstar are owned by Japanese telecoms and internet corporation SoftBank, which bought a 57 per cent majority stake in the mobile phone distributor for $1.26 billion in January.
Claure (pictured), who is also a board member at Sprint, continued in his role as CEO at Brightstar and owns the remaining 43 per cent of shares at the company.
SoftBank also bought an 80 per cent share in Sprint last year for around $20 billion.
The news comes after Sprint yesterday reportedly pulled out of a deal to acquire rival mobile operator T-Mobile US for an estimated $32 billion over continued regulatory resistance. It would have seen number three operator Sprint challenge market leaders AT&T and Verizon Communications.
Reports stated officials from the US Department of Justice and Federal Communications Commission indicated they would oppose the deal. US regulators have insisted they want to keep the number of major operators in the country to four.
