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Posts with tag acquisition

Nokia seals acquisition of Symbian Limited

by Darren Murph, posted Dec 2nd 2008 @ 7:48AM


Yep, it's a done deal. On the same day Nokia chose to unveil its new flagship N97, the outfit also announced that it had "completed its offer to acquire software company Symbian Limited." As of now, "all conditions to Nokia's offer to acquire Symbian Limited have been satisfied and it has received valid acceptance of greater than 99.9% of the total Symbian shares that Nokia did not already own." Nokia's not saying much else about the changeover just yet, but we are told that every last Symbian employee is expected to wear a Nokia badge come February 1, 2009.

Clearwire and Sprint close deal to combine WiMAX businesses

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 28th 2008 @ 7:51PM


This one's been a long time in the making, but the deal is finally done. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel have gleefully announced that the transaction to combine their next-generation wireless internet businesses is complete, and beers are on the two of 'em this evening. On the real, the agreement dictates that Sprint hand over all of its 2.5GHz spectrum and WiMAX-related assets (including XOHM) to Clearwire; additionally, Clearwire has received a $3.2 billion cash infusion from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks. Details beyond that are scant, though we are told that the terms "originally announced on May 7, 2008" are the ones being abided by, and the new company will retain the Clearwire name and its Kirkland, Washington headquarters.

Vodafone voices intentions to keep stake in Verizon Wireless

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 23rd 2008 @ 4:01PM

Earlier in the summer, some words from Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg led us all to believe that he wanted his firm to take full control of Verizon Wireless. Now, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has made clear that his outfit had precisely zero plans to sell its 45% stake in VZW, though he did mention having an "open mind" about the future of said stake. Just in case that wasn't definitive enough for ya, he stressed that staying put was "the best thing" for Vodafone right now, and given just how many Storms are flying off of US shelves, we can't stand to disagree.

[Via mocoNews]

SK Telecom no longer casting glances in Sprint's direction

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 16th 2008 @ 9:41AM


We've been hearing about a possible SK Telecom-Sprint tie-up since July of 2007, but if either firm ever hoped to actually tie the proverbial knot -- well, let's just say that ship has sailed. Given the weakening economy and the general tendency to resist taking risks right about now, the Korean giant has dropped its plans to partner with Sprint in any form or fashion. In related news, Sprint is looking to hop on the quickly expanding layoff bandwagon, but given its humongous Q3 loss, we suppose that's not totally illogical. We're told that the carrier is offering "voluntary buyout packages" to an unspecified number of employees, which is far more awesome than the "thanks, now get the hell out of here" line that's being handed down by so many other firms. Crazy times, we tell you.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

AT&T picks up Centennial Communications for $944 million

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 8th 2008 @ 5:31AM


For those who stick to one coast or the other, you may have never even heard of Centennial Communications. Not to worry, though, as AT&T just made said company entirely more relevant. Shortly before heading out of the office on Friday, AT&T decided it fitting to acquire Centennial for a few bucks shy of a billion, or $944 million for those seeking precision. The transaction will beef up AT&T's coverage for customers in rural areas of the Midwest and Southeast United States, not to mention in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. As always, the acquisition must first pass regulatory approval, the approval of Centennial's stockholders and "other customary closing conditions" before the little guy's 1.1 million subscribers officially make the shift, but we certainly don't expect that to be an issue.

[Via The New York Times, thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Sprint, Clearwire to finally get hitched thanks to FCC approval

by Samuel Axon, posted Nov 5th 2008 @ 3:31PM


We're relieved, here's why: we don't have to report on this on-again / off-again relationship like we're a celebrity tabloid rag anymore. Around the same time it gave the thumbs up to Verizon and Alltel, the FCC also decided that tumultuous lovebirds Sprint and Clearwire can finally get hitched. Their eventual offspring will be the WiMAX network they've been promising with a bunch of other partners -- the plan is to offer wireless broadband to 140 million people within 30 months' time, so today's a big day for WiMAX and corporate romantics everywhere.

FCC approves Verizon's Alltel buy, deal all but done

by Chris Ziegler, posted Nov 4th 2008 @ 4:57PM Breaking News


Following the DOJ's approval last week, the FCC has voted unanimously today to approve Verizon's acquisition of Alltel, promising to create a CDMA network of insane proportions that'll eclipse AT&T to become the US' largest wireless carrier. Like their fellow feds over at the DOJ, the FCC guys attached some conditions to the approval, including a requirement that Verizon continue to honor Alltel's existing roaming agreements for four years -- presumably in an effort to protect and appease rural carriers who've been solidly against the merger all along. This'll almost certainly lead to some job losses in the Alltel camp, but look on the bright side, guys: you just might have a crack at that wild LG VX9600 now.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Department of Justice approves Verizon's Alltel acquisition, requires more concessions

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 30th 2008 @ 7:02PM Breaking News


The suits at the Department of Justice just green-lighted Verizon's planned acquisition of regional rival Alltel, moving the two CDMA giants closer to a marriage that would easily eclipse AT&T to become the largest wireless carrier in North America. There's a catch, though, and a rather hefty one at that -- Verizon has to agree to divest itself of some 100 local markets in 22 states to keep the competitive landscape in action; given that they've already indicated a willingness to shed some markets to seal the deal, it probably won't be an issue. The next hurdle for Vertel (or Allzon, depending on how you roll) will come on November 4, when the FCC votes on whether it'll bless the deal. As for the rumors that Verizon is now eligible to get Alltel at a 50 percent discount with a $1 billion mail-in rebate if it agrees to a two-year contract, we're not hearing any comment from either side.

Is Microsoft finally close to snatching up RIM?

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 10th 2008 @ 9:33AM


Funny story -- we pretty much heard this exact same rumor floating around last August, but given the current economic situation, we're inclined to believe this one a good bit more. A recent Reuters report is pointing out that RIM (like practically every other company right about now) is ripe for the picking, and any outfit with a serious load of cash reserves could get themselves quite a bargain. Given that the Redmond mega-corp has shown interest before (and clearly has plenty of Greenbacks), we were particularly interested in Canaccord Adams analyst Peter Misek's quote: "I'm fairly certain [Microsoft] has a standing offer to buy [RIM] at $50 a share." If you'll recall, RIM's stock sat at $148 per share just four months ago, and now, it's hovering around $60. As expected, Microsoft had no comment on the report, but don't be surprised to see something go down if Wall Street keeps hemorrhaging.

[Via Electronista]

Virgin Mobile formally seals the deal on Helio acquisition

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 22nd 2008 @ 1:55PM


We know, the little possibility that the whole deal could fall apart has been keeping you wide awake for months, but at long last, you can push aside your anxiety and hit the sack. Virgin Mobile USA announced today that it had "completed its acquisition of Helio," and all of the terms put forth on June 27th were used in the final close. Aside from garnering all the necessary regulatory approvals, Helio shareholders SK Telecom and EarthLink have received 13 million shares of Virgin Mobile USA Class A common stock, with a value of around $38 million. It's also noted that both SK Telecom and Virgin Group will each invest a cool $25 million in Virgin Mobile USA for preferred shares. And then, there was one.

Verizon says heads will roll at Alltel

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 18th 2008 @ 2:24PM


When (and if) Verizon closes its deal to snap up Alltel, the carrier's Little Rock campus will suddenly lose its status as a corporate headquarters. Instead, it'll see duty as a regional outpost of the Big Red behemoth, according to Verizon Wireless CEO Lowell McAdam -- and regional outposts don't exactly need the 3,000 employees currently employed there. Though it's not clear exactly how many jobs will be trimmed, rumor has it executives and mid-level managers will be the first to get the boot; the silver lining in the news is that McAdam says Verizon's going to try to find jobs for some of the affected folks elsewhere within the corporate footprint if they're not needed in Little Rock. Atlanta, perhaps?

Verizon wraps up acquisition of Rural Cellular

by Donald Melanson, posted Aug 7th 2008 @ 11:21AM

It's taken more than a year, but Verizon has just officially announced that it has completed its purchase of Rural Cellular, which you may also know by its business name, Unicel. This latest announcement follows a conditional approval from the FCC earlier this week, which required one of the two companies to sell licenses in six markets in order to "improve competition" -- a compromise Verizon seems to have been more than willing to accept. All told, Verizon will be forking over $2.66 billion in cash and assumed debt for the company, which will increase its customer base by more than 625,000, and expand its coverage area by 4.7 million people, including markets in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Alabama, Mississippi, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Idaho, Washington and Oregon.

FCC conditionally approves Verizon's Rural Cellular acquisition

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 5th 2008 @ 9:26PM

Verizon Wireless announced its intentions to snap up Rural Cellular way back in July of last year, and as these things tend to go, it has taken a full 13 months for the FCC to green light the deal. Said agency has just issued a "conditional approval" for the acquisition, but it noted that one of the companies will be required to "sell licenses in six markets in order to improve competition." More specifically, the outfits will have to "shed licenses in several parts of Vermont, one area of New York state and two areas of Washington state." Nothing too earth-shattering, but it's good to see the books (almost) closed on this one.

[Via PhoneScoop]

Microsoft's quarterly report confirms $500 million spent on Danger

by Darren Murph, posted Aug 2nd 2008 @ 8:51PM


We had heard that Microsoft threw down a cool half billion to acquire Danger earlier this year, but quite honestly, we found it a bit tough to believe. After all, analysts are saying that even Motorola is barely worth that much. Regardless of all that, the outfit's latest quarterly report filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission affirms that it did indeed spend $500 million on Danger. That's a lot of jack, son.

Sofinnova snaps up Sagem from Safran, Sam sizzles steaks

by Chris Ziegler, posted Aug 1st 2008 @ 7:27PM Breaking News

Remember back in those freewheelin' days of 2006 when men were men, phones were phones, and Motorola was rumored to have been seriously considering taking Sagem off Safran Group's hands? Yeah, well those days are long gone; Moto's a mere husk of what it once was at the peak of the RAZR craze, and as for Sagem, they're getting ready to fly the "under new ownership" banner in front of headquarters. Venture capital firm Sofinnova has purchased 90 percent of Sagem for around €220 million ($343 million) off current parent Safran, intending to rename it Sagem Wireless (don't get too crazy with the name change there, guys) and turn it into an all-ODM shop not unlike fellow French firm ModeLabs. Roughly half of Sagem's staff will survive the transfer intact, while most of the rest should be offered jobs in Safran's other lines of business or firms in which Sofinnova holds a stake.

[Via mocoNews]




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