Softbank

After several months of negotiations, Japanese tech firm SoftBank will be acquiring a 20% stake in Uber as part of an investment deal with the troubled ride hailing company. Uber's many problems — which have been seen throughout 2017, including numerous reports of sexism, illegal business tactics, and questionable software — are also reflected in the company's updated valuation, which has dropped from roughly $70 billion to $48 billion.

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It looks one of the largest mergers between US mobile carriers in recent history just wasn't meant to be. Both T-Mobile and Sprint have announced that they won't be moving forward with their plans, and have finally called off negotiations following months of back-and-forth discussions. The two companies have jointly stated that they were "unable to find mutually agreeable terms."

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Failure to agree on favorable ownership terms will result in SoftBank calling off merger talks between Sprint and T-Mobile, according to sources who say the change may happen tomorrow. SoftBank will itself propose ending the talks with Deutsche Telekom, the sources claim, saying the two companies have failed to make a deal over ownership of the entity that would result from the merger.

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One of SoftBank's favorite pastimes seems to be buying up other companies, so it's not really much of a surprise to hear that it might be close to striking a deal with Uber. This doesn't appear to be a Sprint-scale buyout, where SoftBank is looking to acquire a majority stake in Uber. Instead, it could own as much as 20% of the company by the time everything is said and done.

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Robotics aficionados may have mixed feelings right now. On the one hand, Alphabet, Google's parent compny has just sold Boston Dynamics, potentially saving the robotics company from descending into obsolescence in the company. On the other hand, the buyer is none other than Japan's Softbank, which may raise a few eyebrows within the tech industry and raising the biggest question of all: what does Softbank plan to do with Boston Dynamics' giant robots?

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It's been a few years now since US mobile carriers Sprint and T-Mobile held negotiations over a merger between the two companies, only to eventually be shut down by government regulators. But now that some time has passed, along with a freeze on such discussions due to the recent spectrum auction, Sprint's parent SoftBank and T-Mobile's parent Deutsche Telekom AG are looking to revive their merger talks.

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Today we're hearing a whopper of a rumor that could have pretty big implications for the US carrier space. SoftBank is apparently eager to see Sprint, one of its subsidiaries, merge with T-Mobile, but resistance from T-Mobile parent company Deutsche Telekom would make such a merger difficult. With Deutsche Telekom unwilling to sell its stake in T-Mobile, it sounds like SoftBank is prepared to put a lot on the line - namely, giving up its majority share in Sprint.

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A new Star Wars movie is coming out soon, so that means lots of tie-in merchandise. And few countries love big-name brands and media properties more than Japan. Put the two together and it means Japan is getting exclusive Star Wars-themed smartphones in celebration of the release of Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

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Artificial Intelligence will be a primary focus for a new team-up between auto brand Honda Motor Co. and internet company SoftBank. Artificial Intelligence for vehicles - AI that makes vehicles able to read emotions and react to its driver intelligently. This announcement comes not long after release of a deal which would have SoftBank acquire chipmaker ARM. The collaboration between SoftBank and Honda is not an acquisition, but a brand team-up.

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This week the folks at SoftBank have announced plans to acquire ARM Holdings for a cool $31.4-billion USD. An agreement between the companies has been reached which suggests that an all cash acquisition will be made. This acquisition will have SoftBank acquiring ARM, making ARM a "wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank." According to the release on this acquisition, "The consideration values the entire existing issued and to be issued share capital of ARM at approximately £24.3 billion."

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Softbank’s Pepper robot is leaving its customer service lifestyle and heading to school, enrolling in Japan’s Hisashi High School in the Fukushima Prefecture. This is the first time the humanoid robot is going to school, and it will, hopefully, positively impact students, inspiring them to hit the books. Pepper speaks both English and Japanese, and will be spending most of its time in English classes, showing off some of its skills and non-retail uses in the process.

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Thousands of jobs are at stake this week as Sprint receives word from parent company SoftBank that they'll be needing to cut costs significantly. Straight from a SoftBank earnings call this week for the quarter ending at the end of September, 2015, it would appear that though Sprint is the "only carrier with growth" in the USA for Postpaid devices - though their charts don't actually have numbers attached. Despite this, Sprint will be needing to cut back on cash spent to keep their business running.

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