As anticipated, SoftBank inked a deal to invest $1.26 billion in Brightstar, taking on a 57 per cent stake in the business in a move that will enable the device distribution company to “expand its scale, and further its position as a leading provider of services for the wireless industry”.

The deal will see Brightstar becoming the exclusive provider of handsets, accessories, and services to “certain SoftBank telecommunications affiliates”. It will buy “over $20 billion in handsets, accessories and services, making it one of the leading buyers of mobile devices and accessories in the world”.

The deal will also see the Buying & Innovation Group, a joint venture created by SoftBank, Sprint and Brightstar, folded in to Brightstar.

So far, it is not clear if SoftBank’s ownership of the company will lead to a change in attitude from Brightstar’s other customers, although obviously for a distributor the scale it can deliver is an important factor in its success.

IDC analyst John Jackson told Reuters: “I would certainly think the existing Brightstar customers will want to review their situation. None of this will have been lost on SoftBank.”

“Brightstar has been a model of innovation, transforming from a regional wireless distributor into the world’s leading provider of services to the wireless industry and we are excited about what that will mean for the SoftBank Group,” Masayoshi Son, founder, chairman and CEO of Softbank said.

Brightstar has a presence in more than 50 countries, with EBITDA of around $260 million on revenue of more than $7 billion for the year ended June 2013.

SoftBank is financing the deal with its own cash, and will also guarantee some existing loans.

SoftBank already owns Sprint, the third-largest operator in the US.

Over the next five years, or upon certain events, SoftBank’s stake in Brightstar will increase to 70 per cent.