T-Mobile to merge with Sprint?

[spivey8]

The parent company of cell phone carrier T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, is in talks to either merge with or acquire the large mobile phone carrier Sprint.

Citing a gradual weakening of the US dollar and worsening profits at Sprint, Deutsche Telekom is now looking for any transaction that will help T-Mobile's US branch gain ground in the large US market.

The deal, if it goes through, would make Deutsche Telekom the largest American carrier, and with the currency rate as it is, the deal would be cheaper than Telekom's acquisition of VoiceStream in 2001.

Sprint has declined to comment on "market rumors."

There is however a hitch to this report. T-Mobile uses the GSM standard while Sprint uses the mainly North American-focused CDMA network. T-Mobile phones are not compatible on the Sprint network and vice versa meaning Sprint customers would have to trade in their handsets or purchase new ones that are GSM (SIM card) compatible.

[iamdasht19]

“ Originally Posted by spivey8 ”

The parent company of cell phone carrier T-Mobile, Deutsche Telekom, is in talks to either merge with or acquire the large mobile phone carrier Sprint.

Citing a gradual weakening of the US dollar and worsening profits at Sprint, Deutsche Telekom is now looking for any transaction that will help T-Mobile's US branch gain ground in the large US market.

The deal, if it goes through, would make Deutsche Telekom the largest American carrier, and with the currency rate as it is, the deal would be cheaper than Telekom's acquisition of VoiceStream in 2001.

Sprint has declined to comment on "market rumors."

There is however a hitch to this report. T-Mobile uses the GSM standard while Sprint uses the mainly North American-focused CDMA network. T-Mobile phones are not compatible on the Sprint network and vice versa meaning Sprint customers would have to trade in their handsets or purchase new ones that are GSM (SIM card) compatible.

this will never happen. the whole cdma and gsm tihng is going to be the downfall and yet another one of the many rumors that have been started about sprint getting bought out. last week i read an article about vodafone buying sprint out..... it just isnt going to happen unless alltel or verizon want to get in on the bidding.

[spivey8]

lets hope so , i like sprint to much. great rates

[iamdasht19]

“ Originally Posted by spivey8 ”

lets hope so , i like sprint to much. great rates

yeah it wont dont even break a sweat. if im wrong i will convince pb to shut down the site and thats how confident i am since i would be bored as hell without spj......

[neilson]

If this happens, we'll be worse off. We'll need US Cellular and Alltel to merge to form a major carrier(either that or Metro PCS/Cricket).

[Tigerz]

WONT happen theres not a chance t-mobile is doing just as bad as sprint is...not a good time for them to buy and shit

[thermus]

THIS WILL ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IF READ.

Sprint Nextel Corp. was silent about its future Monday as reports emerged that the company was considering spinning off or selling Nextel and that Deutsche Telekom AG was investigating a bid to buy the struggling wireless provider.

The Wall Street Journal, quoting unidentified people familiar with the situation, reported that deliberations between Germany's Deutsche Telekom, the parent company of No. 4 wireless company T-Mobile, and Sprint Nextel were at "a preliminary stage and management may very well turn away."

Such a deal would catapult Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile wireless unit to the top spot in the U.S. market.

Sprint Nextel spokeswoman Leigh Horner said the company had no comment. The Overland Park, Kan.-based company's shares rose 83 cents, or 10.5 percent, to close at $8.72.

Deutsche Telekom did not comment.

Sprint Nextel's faltering stock price and the expected exodus of millions of subscribers this year have caused continued speculation about the company's future.

Qwest Communications International Inc. announced Monday that it would stop reselling Sprint's wireless service and switch to Verizon Wireless. As of the end of last year, Qwest contributed about 824,000 of Sprint's 53.8 million subscribers.

Analysts have disagreed whether the nation's third-largest wireless carrier is ripe for a takeover but have predicted it will begin selling parts of its operation to generate cash and make itself more agile.

Some analysts have speculated that Deutsche Telekom might consider buying Sprint to bulk up and prevent an escalation of flat-rate pricing in the industry.

But the two carriers' technologies are incompatible, a challenge Sprint has already seen enough of in the merger with Nextel.

Jeff Kagan, an independent telecommunications analyst in Atlanta, said the two companies getting together would be much more complicated and difficult than a merger between two U.S. companies.

"Maybe Deutsche Telekom is sending up a few flags to learn what the market actually thinks about a possible deal," Kagan said. "If too much resistance is felt they can simply walk away without a bloody nose. If however there is not much resistance, then it could get interesting."

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Cyren Call, a McLean, Va., company founded by Nextel founder Morgan O'Brien, was trying to assemble a consortium of investors to acquire Nextel, saying it would be part of a plan to create a nationwide wireless network for public safety communications.

The newspaper reported that Sprint could choose to spin off Nextel into a separate company or just transition customers off Nextel's network and onto Sprint's.

Sprint has struggled since acquiring Nextel Communications Inc. in August 2005. In March, it announced it had lost 683,000 wireless subscribers with annual contracts and expected to lose another 1.2 million in the first quarter and a similar amount in the second quarter of 2008.

The sale of the Nextel-branded network, which has seen the largest number of customer defections, could happen if the government would allow such a merger, analysts said.

"In light of the way the current competitive landscape is likely to shape the way policy makers would look at the merger, our sense is that such a deal would be more likely than not to pass muster with the government," Stifel Nicolaus & Co. analysts said in a note to investors on Monday.

Verizon Wireless and various U.S. cable providers, who need wireless in their fight with traditional telephone companies, have also long been named as potential Sprint buyers.

Sprint Nextel is the third-biggest provider of cell phone services in the U.S. and has a market capitalization of approximately $22 billion. AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless are the top two U.S. providers.

T-Mobile is No. 4 in the U.S. market, but the unit has proved key to Deutsche Telekom, given that just slightly more than 50 percent of its annual sales now come from markets outside of Germany, its home base. Last year, the company posted sales of $100.8 billion worldwide, including $29.8 billion from T-Mobile.

Deutsche Telekom wrapped up its $1.6 billion purchase of SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. in February

[thermus]

THIS WILL ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS IF YOU READ THE WHOLE THING

Germany's Deutsche Telekom would face management and antitrust issues if it tried to buy U.S. wireless carrier Sprint Nextel.

A German magazine on Saturday reported that Deutsche Telekom DT is mulling a bid for Sprint Nextel S , resurrecting rumors that surfaced two months ago. Other reports followed, and the Wall Street Journal also reported later Monday that Sprint is looking at possibly spinning off Nextel.

Analysts question any DT-Sprint deal, pointing to Sprint's fourth-quarter loss of $29.5 billion.

If Deutsche Telekom merged the nation's No. 3 wireless carrier with its T-Mobile USA, which is No. 4, it would create the largest U.S. wireless carrier. It would have more subscribers than No. 1 AT&T T . Verizon Wireless ranks No. 2.

Some lawmakers would oppose having a foreign company in control of the nation's biggest wireless firm, analysts say.

They say Deutsche Telekom also would have challenges trying to fix Sprint's network, marketing and customer service problems, while integrating it with T-Mobile.

"A deal would create a hobbled competitor struggling with a year or more of antitrust merger reviews and a bloated cost structure," said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Bernstein Research.

Networks Not Compatible

The companies have declined to comment. Sprint's shares on Monday rose 10.5%, getting a late boost on the Nextel spinoff report. Deutsche Telekom's U.S. shares fell 1%.

One issue is that T-Mobile's network uses a technology called GSM, which dominates in Europe and some other areas. Sprint Nextel runs two networks, one mainly for consumers, the other for business users.

Neither runs on GSM, meaning that customers could not use the same phones to make calls. It also means T-Mobile likely wouldn't see the network cost cuts typical to most phone mergers.

Deutsche Telekom would have a challenge migrating Sprint Nextel's customers to T-Mobile's GSM network, Moffett says. The process could take five years, he says.

Many of Sprint's current problems stem from its poorly executed merger with Nextel in 2005. The company ousted Gary Forsee as chief executive last year and brought in Dan Hesse, who was head of Embarq EQ, the former Sprint wireline business.

The Journal report later Monday said Cyren Call, a company founded by Nextel founder Morgan O'Brien, is trying to assemble a consortium of investors to acquire Nextel.

T-Mobile USA, which has focused on younger users, has had few hiccups, analysts say. Its growth has been a boon to Deutsche Telekom, which needs wireless growth to offset declining sales and profit from its phone business in Germany.

T-Mobile USA added 3.6 million customers in 2007, ending the year with 28.7 million subscribers. Sprint Nextel had 53.8 million customers as of Dec. 31, up 1.7 million from a year earlier.

Merging Sprint Nextel with T-Mobile could create a stronger marketing company, says James Moorman at Standard & Poor's. "It might solve some of Sprint's brand image problems," he said.

A combined company, however, might not grow any faster than T-Mobile USA has on its own, Citigroup analyst Michael Rollins says. He says Sprint Nextel subscribers could get confused. "Another network migration would be very hard on customers," Rollins said.

Congress Disliked Earlier Deal

He also says there's only a 50% chance federal regulators would approve a Deutsche Telekom purchase of Sprint Nextel. If combined, Sprint and T-Mobile would hold about 31% of the U.S. wireless market, topping AT&T's 28%.

Deutsche Telekom entered the U.S. market in 2000 when it bought VoiceStream for $31 billion in cash and stock.

Though Voicestream was small, 30 U.S. senators asked the Federal Communications Commission to consider the deal's national security implications. The chief opponent, Sen. Ernest Hollings, D-S.C., retired in 2004.

Deutsche Telekom seems more committed to the U.S. market of late, analysts say. T-Mobile USA has lagged other wireless firms in rolling out a next-generation 3G network, with faster data speeds.

On Monday, T-Mobile USA said it has launched 3G services in its first market, New York City.

One plus with Sprint is that it would boost T-Mobile's U.S. airwave holdings, helping it roll out 3G and other new services.

In February, Deutsche Telekom completed its purchase of Berwyn, Pa.-based SunCom Wireless Holdings for $1.6 billion.

Still, some analysts say DT's acquisition strategy is focused on Europe.

The company is nearing a deal to acquire a strategic stake in Greece's No. 1 phone company, OTE. That deal would give Deutsche Telekom assets in eastern Europe.

[spivey8]

hmmmm

[AL_CAPONE_X3]

“ Originally Posted by spivey8 ”

hmmmm

sometimes when surfing the internet on browsers if its acting up the url wont change even though ur on another page. . .like i had the url "www.myspace.com" on my url when i was in google. . .just sticks sometimes. . .were you visitng sprint before you went to the tmobile site? because i just went to tmobile.com and didnt get that. . .