Sprint shuffles leadership amid merger bid

Sprint is shuffling its leadership as it moves forward with its proposed merger with T-Mobile, the company announced Wednesday.

CEO Marcelo Claure will become the company’s executive chairman and chief financial officer. Michael Combes will replace him as chief executive.

“Marcelo has done a remarkable job of turning around the Sprint brand and business, driving enhanced network performance, strong subscriber growth and significant cost reductions leading to the best financial results in Sprint’s history,” Masayoshi Son, CEO of Sprint parent company SoftBank, said in a statement.

{mosads}”Marcelo has also positioned Sprint as a leader in the race to 5G, which promises to revolutionize the communications industry.  He will continue to guide Sprint’s strategy and momentum as Executive Chairman through a successful closing with T-Mobile.”

Claure has served as CEO since 2014. In his new role, he will continue to oversee efforts to get the $26 billion merger approved, the company said. He is also joining SoftBank as an executive, and if the merger is cleared, he and Son will join T-Mobile’s board of directors.

T-Mobile and Sprint announced the merger agreement on Sunday, and the deal is awaiting approval from regulators, including the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice. It’s unclear what the deal’s chances are, but critics are already calling for it to be blocked, arguing that it will drive up prices and reduce choices for consumers.