Japan’s Softbank plunges 17 percent on Sprint takeover talks

TOKYO–Shares in Japanese mobile carrier Softbank plunged nearly 17 percent by Friday’s close on concerns about the size of a possible multi-billion-dollar takeover of US giant Sprint Nextel.

Softbank, Japan’s third-biggest mobile carrier, slumped 16.86 percent to 2,395 yen on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.