ISS Recommends SoftBank/Sprint Transaction

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Sprint (NYSE:S) and SoftBank (TSE: 9984) announced today that leading proxy advisory firm Institutional Stockholder Services (“ISS”) has recommended that Sprint stockholders vote in favor of the agreed merger between Sprint and SoftBank. “Given the strategic merits of the SoftBank transaction, the sales and negotiation process overseen by the board, the strength of the valuation relative to precedent transactions, and the market reaction, a vote for the transaction is warranted,” ISS concluded in its report to clients. In recommending that Sprint stockholders vote in favor of the proposed merger, ISS’s report, issued on May 31, 2013, noted that the SoftBank transaction addresses what the proxy advisory firm called Sprint’s most compelling need by alleviating its debt burden and providing important capital to complete the improvements to Sprint’s network which will improve its ability to compete in the US market. Sprint Nextel Corp.