T-Mobile, Sprint merger could close by April 1st

With most of the regulatory and legal hurdles out of the way -- approval from the California Public Utilities Commission is still needed -- T-Mobile and Sprint announced an amended version of their agreement to merge. CNBC explains that the updated deal will give Deutsche Telekom a slightly higher stake in the combined company ("New T-Mobile"), without requiring a new shareholder vote that would delay a deal that has already been pending for almost two years.

Deutsche Telekom will own 43 percent of the new company, while Sprint investor Softbank will have 24 percent, and the remaining 33 percent owned by public shareholders. T-Mobile apparently thinks this could all be wrapped up by April 1st, the last month before John Legere steps aside for incoming CEO Mike Sievert.