Telecoms deal is Japan's biggest buy overseas

The Japanese mobile phone operator Softbank agreed what is the biggest-ever overseas acquisition by a Japanese firm yesterday with a $20bn (£12.44bn) deal to buy a majority stake in Sprint Nextel.

The move, which sees Softbank pick up 70 per cent of Sprint, gives it new avenues for expansion beyond a saturated home market. Sprint, meanwhile, will gain firepower to prey on smaller peers and expand its fourth-generation mobile phone network across the US.