Sprint, T-Mobile slide as reports cast doubts on merger

NEW YORK — Shares of Sprint and T-Mobile have tumbled as several news reports cast doubt on a long-expected deal between the two wireless carriers.

The Nikkei Asian Review kicked off by reporting from Japan that Sprint’s owner, Japan’s SoftBank, plans to break off deal negotiations with T-Mobile’s parent company, Germany’s Deutsche Telekom, over disagreements about who would control the combined company.

The Wall Street Journal reported later Monday that SoftBank is “abandoning” deal efforts. Bloomberg reported that deal talks have “hit a serious snag.”

The stories relied on information from unidentified people. Sprint, T-Mobile and SoftBank did not respond to questions from The Associated Press.

Sprint’s stock slumped 9.3 percent Monday. T-Mobile shares dropped 5.4 percent.

U.S. regulators’ concerns thwarted the companies’ previous deal effort in 2014.