Wireless Federation

Vodafone terminates merger with Wind Hellas (Greece)

On 02.08.12, In Mobile, By Editor

World’s leading mobile communications company Vodafone has terminated plans of a potential business deal with Wind Hellas. According to reports, the decision was taken after the British firm faced opposition by the European Union regulators. Sources claim that the merger, if allowed to go through, would result in a market having only two operators, which was the prime reason for the opposition.

As per sources, Vodafone had reported a US$ 710 million loss in November 2011 for its unit in Greece owing to discounted tariff plans and declining cash flow. The merger between the two firms would have helped Vodafone to significantly cut costs and compete better with rival OTE.

Vodafone is yet to make an official statement regarding the reason for terminating the deal.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: European Union • Greece • merger • OTE • Vodafone • Wind Hellas

AT&T terminates bid for T-Mobile merger (USA)

On 12.23.11, In Mobile, By Editor

Wireless carrier AT&T’s long lasting battle to acquire Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile has finally come to an end, with both operators having mutually agreed to terminate the deal. The news, while being a setback for AT&T, has been greatly welcomed by the industry as a whole which believes that this outcome is beneficial for the consumers. As per the agreement, AT&T will be required to pay Deutsche Telekom a pretax breakup fee of US$ 4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011. Further, company reports reveal that the operator is planning a mutually beneficial roaming agreement with Deutsche Telekom.

According to reports, Randall Stephenson, Chairman and CEO, AT&T has said that the operator will continue to be aggressive in leading the mobile internet revolution. He added that over the past four years they have invested more in their networks than any other U.S. company. As a result, they deliver best-in-class mobile broadband speeds connecting smartphones, tablets and emerging devices at a record pace and are well under way with their nationwide 4G LTE deployment.

Stephenson also said that policy makers would be required to enact legislations to meet the country’s long term needs as well as allow the free markets to work so that additional spectrum is available to meet the immediate needs of the U.S. wireless industry.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 4G LTE • AT&T • Deutsche Telekom • merger • Randall Stephenson • T-Mobile

Justice Department delays trial for AT&T and T-Mobile merger (USA)

On 12.16.11, In Mobile, By Editor

U.S. telecom giant AT&T, along with T-Mobile, has reportedly approached the Justice Department to delay the trial for their US$ 39 billion merger, which was initially scheduled for February 13. According to reports, AT&T has said that they are evaluating other options for the merger so as to achieve the required regulatory approvals from the government.

As per sources, U.S. District judge Ellen Segal Huvelle, has approved the request to delay the proceedings and has given AT&T until January 12 to register its report with the court regarding its future plans with respect to T-Mobile. Industry analysts believe that the extension gives AT&T the chance to modify its proposal for the merger or pay T-Mobile the breakup fee and move on, as the judge may have moved to dismiss the case.

Further, sources claim that this may be AT&T’s last chance to convince the government authorities for any deal with T-Mobile, as the case is not expected to be carried out over a long period of time.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: AT&T • Justice Department • merger • T-Mobile

AT&T to record a cost of US$ 4 billion in the 4Q if T-Mobile merger fails (USA)

On 11.25.11, In Mobile, By Editor

US mobile operators AT&T and T-Mobile have reportedly withdrawn their petition from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in an attempt to first win approval for the clearance of the deal from the Justice Department. Further, according to reports AT&T will record a charge of US$ 4 billion in the fourth quarter as pretax accounting costs to be paid to Deutsche Telekom as breakup fees in the event that the merger is not permitted to go through.

Sources claim that this move reveals that this move is AT&T’s way of taking charge for the cost in the likelihood of the merger failing. As per sources, AT&T has said that the $4 billion accounting charge includes $3 billion in cash and $1 billion in book value of wireless spectrum.

Company reports suggest that AT&T has said that both the operators are continuing to pursue the sale of Deutsche Telekom’s U.S. wireless assets to AT&T and are taking this step to facilitate the consideration of all options at the FCC and to focus their continuing efforts on obtaining antitrust clearance for the transaction from the Department of Justice.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: AT&T • Deutsche Telekom • Federal Communications Commission (FCC) • Justice Department • merger • T-Mobile

Russian Government to check valuations in Rostelecom merger

On 11.11.10, In Mobile, By Editor

The Russian government has ordered an independent audit firm to keep a check on how the seven regional telecom companies, which are to be merged with OAO Rostelecom in the upcoming year has valued the deal.

According to reports the Russian Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina wrote a letter to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the share swap ratio was more favorable to the shareholders of the regional companies than to Rostelecom’s owners.

The regional companies, currently controlled by state-run OAO Svyazinvest, will merge with Rostelecom, Svyazinvest’s main unit, in a share swap deal planned for closure by March. The merger is the part of Russia’s plan to restructure its fixed-line sector.

According to the company, the state will not lose control in Rostelecom as a result of the merger. As for the fairness of the ratios, the swap coefficients have been approved by Rostelecom and the regional companies’ shareholders.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Economic Development Minister • Elvira Nabiullina • merger • Mobile • OAO Svyazinvest • Rostelecom • Russia • Russian Government • state-run

MTN denies talks of tie- up with Reliance Communication (India)

On 06.04.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: South African wireless communications firm MTN Group Ltd has declared its desire to continue expanding its footprint in emerging markets but denied its talks of tie up with Reliance Communications Ltd. This has also put a halt to the news that revisiting plans to push into the giant Indian market.

However, there are speculations that it might look again at a merger with Reliance, India’s second-largest mobile company by subscribers, since controlling owner Anil Ambani scrapped a pact with his brother that had quashed a deal with MTN in 2008.

According to Nozipho January-Bardill, MTN executive for corporate affairs, the company is not in discussions to merge with or buy a stake in Reliance Communications and nor is it interested in beginning such talks now. Earlier it was reported that Reliance has received proposals from international telecommunications companies interested in buying a strategic stake but the names of the firms were not taken.

In April, the MTN has also revealed that it was considering the acquisition of some or all of Egyptian operator Orascom Telecom Holding.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Acquisition • Africa • ASIA • Egypt • India • merger • Mobile • MTN • operator • Orascom Telecom • Reliance Communication • South Africa

E-Plus: Future after German 3G auction

On 05.26.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A total of EUR 4.385 billion has been earned from German mobile frequency auction which ended on May 20 of this year. Maximum amount has been paid by Vodafone Germany with EUR 1.423 billion for 94.9 MHz, followed by O2 Germany with EUR 1.379 billion for 99.9 MHz and T-Mobile Germany with EUR 1.299 billion for 95 MHz. E-Plus paid EUR 283.65 million for 69.8 MHz.

Highest bid was made for the 800 MHz spectrum, but only three of the four operators could acquire it. Due to less money, E-Plus was unable to acquire these frequencies and according to the parent company, KPN before that start of the auction, E-Plus would bid disciplined to prevent paying too much for the spectrum and thus increasing the costs of rolling out LTE networks.

Apart from 800 MHz spectrum, successful bids were made by E-plus in other frequencies like 20 MHz of 1.8 GHz (GSM/GPRS/UMTS/HSPA), 19.8 MHz of 2 GHz (UMTS/HSPA/LTE) and 30 MHz of 2.6 GHz (LTE/Wimax). E-Plus will have to face difficulties with deploying mobile broadband in rural areas due to missing 800 MHz spectrum but will be able to offer better coverage within buildings by gaining access to lower frequencies.

Lots of speculations have arisen regarding future moves of E-Plus now. As of now, E-Plus will have to wait for the new market analysis from German telecommunications regulator BNA. BNA might decide to restructure 900 MHz spectrum to create a level playing field for all operators and through this decision, E-Plus can get its hands on frequencies in the lower ranges.

Other solutions might also be looked up by E-Plus and KPN with merger between E-Plus and Telefonica O2 Germany’s mobile activities as one of them. Since, Telefonica is focusing its investments on Brazil and its home market Spain, acquisition of E-Plus by the telco is less likely. At the end, E-Plus is left with its existing strategy of offering mobile services against a good price/quality ratio by expanding its mobile broadband network with the acquired spectrum.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: 3G • Brazil • Europe • Germany • GPRS • GSM • HSPA • KPN • merger • Mobile • O2 Germany • operator • Spain • T-Mobile • Telefonica • UMTS • WiMAX

SAP’s acquisition of Sybase to heat competition with Oracle

On 05.14.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Sybase competition with Oracle in the software world will be given a new lease of life after its acquisition by SAP in a $5.8 billion deal. New revenue streams and a larger technology portfolio will also help it to remain competitive in the longer run. The deal is very mutual in nature as even SAP could also capitalize on former strategic partner Sybase’s mobile technology. It will also enable SAP to consolidate and expand upon its mobile offerings.

According to analyst, Sybase’s strong presence in global mobile telephony offers intriguing opportunities for SAP to further leverage and extends its business solutions and given the exploding interest in smartphones, tablets and other handheld computing devices, this qualifies as a classic no-brainer. The deal also marks a major shift in the enterprise-software landscape as SAP develops and delivers a wide range of enterprise business software solutions, Sybase’s majorly contributes towards the global mobile market, where the database solutions of the company support SMS messaging chores for billion mobile phones.

Mobile computing, cloud computing and on-premises enterprise resource management applications have been seen as the primary underpinnings of SAP’s business in both the short and long term. SAP and Sybase deal is reflected as a merger agreement with Sybase selling at $65 per share, a 44 percent premium over the company’s average stock price last quarter.

According to Jim Hagemann Snabe, co-CEO of SAP and a member of the SAP executive board, Mobile devices are becoming the preferred interaction point with business applications, whether the user is a factory supervisor, a retail manager or an entrepreneur in a development nation.

However, even after enjoying a nice niche in the financial market, SAP is still not is a position to compete with Oracle in applications suites. To deal with this, Sap has expressed its willingness to examine other possible acquisitions but has not made clear whether it would engage in an Oracle-style spending spree.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: Business Applications • Cloud Computing • merger • Mobile • Oracle • RIM • SAP • smartphone • Software Solution • Sybase

Vodafone & its shareholders to discuss Verizon plan (USA)

On 04.12.10, In Mobile, By Editor

www.WirelessFederation.com/news: Vodafone will enter into a series of discussions with its shareholders to know their point of view for its US Verizon Wireless joint venture. Vodafone’s merger with Verizon Communications is also included in the venture which will create a company worth more than GBP 120 billion.

The company will consult the shareholders on the options for the deal next month after delivering full year results on May 18. Vodafone’s chief executive Vittorio Colao will visit the company’s largest shareholders, including BlackRock, Axa and Legal & General. Despite the fact that the transaction would result into high price and large tax bill, Verizon is understood to prefer the option of buying Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in the joint venture.

While Vodafone would be willing to accept the joint venture, Verizon is unwilling to lose large amounts of value on a business it controls. It was earlier opined by the directors of rival international mobile phone companies that Vodafone-Verizon merger was the most likely outcome.

Filed under:Mobile Tagged with: merger • North Amercia • USA • Verizon Communications • Verizon Wireless • Vodafone