Huawei Loser in SoftBank-Sprint Deal Over Alleged Chinese Spying

The U.S. national-security clearance of SoftBank Corp.’s $20.1 billion acquisition of Sprint Nextel Corp. imposes the first restrictions on a third-party supplier over allegations of Chinese spying.

Tokyo-based SoftBank and Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint yesterday said they’d been notified their proposed deal was cleared by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment, an interagency group that vets non-U.S. acquisitions. The deal needs one more U.S. regulatory clearance.