Sprint Shareholders Approve Sale to SoftBank

Shareholders of Sprint Nextel voted on Tuesday to approve the sale of a majority stake to SoftBank of Japan for $21.6 billion, ending months of drama about the fate of the company.

About 98 percent of the votes cast at Tuesday’s meeting, held in Sprint’s hometown, Overland Park, Kan., approved the transaction. That represents about 80 percent of the company’s outstanding stock, it said in a statement.

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

The deal still requires the approval of the Federal Communications Commission.

A SoftBank representative said in a statement: “We are pleased to have the overwhelming support of Sprint shareholders. We look forward to receiving F.C.C. approval and promptly completing the transaction so that we can begin implementing our plans to deploy an advanced Sprint network that supports innovative devices and service packages tailored to the rapidly expanding mobile needs of U.S. consumers.”

Through the complex deal, SoftBank will gain a 78 percent stake in Sprint and a foothold in the American cellphone market. In return, Sprint is gaining a deep-pocketed backer committed to financing a turnaround and helping it take on its bigger rivals, ! Verizon Wireless and AT&T.

The approval of the deal came after an unexpected challenge to SoftBank by Dish Network, which offered a rival takeover bid for Sprint in April and mounted a fierce campaign to derail SoftBank’s offer.

SoftBank countered two weeks ago by sweetening its offer and locking up the support of Sprint’s second-biggest shareholder, the hedge fund Paulson & Company.

Sprint is still seeking to buy full control of Clearwire, whose wireless spectrum holdings will go toward building out its own high-speed data network. Earlier this month, Sprint sweetened its bid for the 50 percent of Clearwire that it doe not own in an attempt to defeat a rival offer by Dish.