Displaying items by tag: merger

Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile US has announced that it is financially prepared to close its planned merger with Sprint, based on its previously secured commitments for bridge financing and senior credit facility financing.

The company has been in communication with all banks and is confident that they are ready to fund their commitments to support the closing of the merger transaction. The two telcos continue to drive forward toward closing the merger as soon as possible.

John Legere, CEO of T-Mobile, commented: ‘I’m pleased that right now we have broad support from the banks to finance the closing of this merger. We are very close to unleashing the capabilities of the New T-Mobile, and that is even more important for consumers during the current COVID-19 pandemic.’

The merger will see Deutsche Telekom in effective control of the combined company, controlling more than 69% of the shares: early on in the process, SoftBank gave Deutsche Telekom a proxy for the shares the Japanese company will own in the new T-Mobile US. The original agreement was adjusted last month to reflect Sprint’s declining value.

Legere noted: “Our nation is more dependent than ever on connectivity, and we will continue to deliver our essential wireless service today and when we merge with Sprint, with a nationwide 5G service that is broader and more robust than anything else in America. We can see the finish line and are prepared to close the merger very soon so our teams can get to work building a supercharged Un-carrier.”

T-Mobile and Sprint have said they were taking the final steps to complete a tie-up that reshapes the US wireless industry after a federal court overturned an antitrust challenge.

The decision by US District Judge Victor Marrero rejecting a challenge from New York, California and other states is expected to allow the third- and fourth-largest mobile carriers to complete their merger around April 1, the companies said.

The two firms said in a statement they were "now taking final steps to complete their merger to create the New T-Mobile."

The combined firm with have more than 100 million customers, claiming the scale to compete with larger wireless rivals Verizon and AT&T.

"Today was a huge victory for this merger," said T-Mobile chief executive John Legere, who will head the combined firm before stepping down in May.

"The New T-Mobile will be... great for consumers and great for competition."

The states had filed the suit last June, seeking to block a proposed $26 billion tie-up they argued would cause "irreparable harm" leading to higher costs that would price out low-income consumers.

The judge said however he was "not persuaded" by the contention that the new company would pursue anticompetitive behavior after the deal.

T-Mobile, controlled by Germany's Deutsche Telekom, will hold a majority stake in the new firm after the tie-up with Sprint, which is controlled by Japan's SoftBank.

Backers of the deal have argued that combining T-Mobile and Sprint will create a strong number three US wireless carrier behind Verizon and AT&T, with the resources to invest in 5G, or fifth-generation, networks.

Critics contended it would leave consumers with fewer choices, and lead to higher prices.

"This outcome puts consumers at risk," said John Bergmayer of the consumer activist group Public Knowledge.

"It is more clear than ever that we need strengthened regulatory oversight of the communications industry to protect competition and consumer rights, as well as improvements to our antitrust laws."

Avery Gardiner, a competition fellow with the Center for Democracy & Technology, said on Twitter that mergers that leave just three competitors "are almost always bad for consumers" and "almost always blocked because they 'substantially lessen competition.'"

The deal was approved by federal regulators, contingent on the divestment of Sprint's prepaid division Boost Mobile to the satellite broadcast group Dish, which will begin building a new national wireless network.

Shares of Sprint surged 73 percent on the news while T-Mobile jumped 11.3 percent.

T-Mobile has said the deal would give it the resources needed to invest more in 5G and in-home broadband compete with "Big Cable" firms.

Some analysts have suggested that the final deal may be revalued lower as a result of changing market conditions since it was announced in 2018.

Walter Piecyk and Joe Galone of Lightshed Partners said Sprint may be worth less than the original $26 billion.

"We have repeatedly expressed our view that T-Mobile should renegotiate the price of the deal with Sprint based on the longer than expected approval process and the worse than expected erosion in Sprint's business," the analysts said in a research note.

Telecom Italia today confirmed that it has been in talks with Italian network provider, Open Fiber, to potentially merge and initiate a full fiber network rollout.

The discussions have been ongoing between the two companies since June 2019. Back then, the Italian government made it clear that they would prefer it if one operator would provide the country with fiber optic networks.

Late last year, Luigi Di Maio, Italy’s deputy Prime Minister said, “We are working to set the conditions in order to create a single player to distribute internet and broadband.”

In reference to the potential merge between the two entities, CEO of Telecom Italia, Luigi Gubitosi said that the talks are still ongoing and that “in life there is always a plan B”.

In order for the merge to happen, a few factors need to be considered. Open Fiber is owned by Enel, the Italian utility provider and renowned Italian Investment bank Cass Depositi e Prestiti. Due to this, for a merge to take place between the two, Telecom Italia would have to buy out Enel’s stake.

When asked about negotiations with Open Fiber at an industry event earlier this week, Gubitosi stated, “Funds have shown an interest in investing, even at valuations that could appear aggressive.”

The hype surrounding the highly anticipated merger plan between Malaysia’s Axiata Group Bhd and Norway’s Telenor Group seems to have lost traction since the plan was first announced in May, due in fact to the Communications and Multimedia Minister Gobind Singh Deo’s statement that the potential partnership is still very much at the proposal stage.

The $26 billion merger deal between US telecommunication operators T-Mobile US and Sprint has received the backing of a key official at the US communications regulator FCC (Federal Communications Commission).

A leading US consumer watchdog has voiced their concerns regarding the details of the proposed merger agreement between mobile operators T-Mobile US and Sprint.

US telecommunications operator Sprint has posted a disappointing performance in its financial returns for Q4 in 2018.

The US government has confirmed that the proposed merger deal between telecommunication operators T-Mobile US and Sprint will undergo a forensic examination in an effort to determine whether or not the deal represents the best interests of consumers.

The parent company of Discovery Channel and Animal Planet, Discovery Communications, is forking out $14.6 billion, or $90 per share, based on Discovery’s Friday, July 21 closing price, to purchase Scripps Networks, the parent company of the Food Network and Travel Channel. The deal will combine two major US television companies, further consolidating the media industry. The transaction is expected to close by early 2018.

Discovery and Scripps combined share an estimated 20 percent of ad-supported television viewership in the United States. The benefit of combining, the companies said, is that it would allow them to compete better against online options, such as Netflix and Amazon, which are quickly gaining popularity.

Additionally, the combined company will be home to five of the top pay-TV networks for women and will account for over 20% share of women watching primetime pay-TV in the U.S. Discovery sees strong opportunities to strengthen its existing global female networks with select content from Food Network, HGTV and all the Scripps brands.

Cable television companies face falling subscriber numbers, and to compete with platforms like Netflix, are releasing their own online platforms, and also cheaper television packages with fewer channels, to entice viewership.

“This is an exciting new chapter for Discovery. Scripps is one of the best run media companies in the world with terrific assets, strong brands and popular talent and formats.  Our business is about great storytelling, authentic characters and passionate super fans,” said David Zaslav, President and CEO, Discovery Communications.

“We believe that by coming together with Scripps, we will create a stronger, more flexible and more dynamic media company with a global content engine that can be fully optimized and monetized across our combined networks, products and services in every country around the world,” Zaslav added.

Kenneth W. Lowe, Chairman, President & CEO, Scripps Networks Interactive, said, “Through the passion and dedication of our incredible employees, and with the support of the Scripps family, we have built a lifestyle content company that touches the lives of consumers every single day. This agreement with Discovery presents an unmatched opportunity for Scripps to grow its leading lifestyle brands across the world and on new and emerging channels including short-form, direct-to-consumer and streaming platforms.”

The combination will extend Scripps’ brands, programming and talent to a broader international audience through Discovery’s global distribution, sales and languaging infrastructure.  Scripps also has a strong position in key international growth markets, including the U.K. and Poland, and will help fuel Discovery’s existing content pipeline in growth areas like Discovery’s Home and Health network in Latin America.

Discovery’s added scale, content engine and multiple brand offerings will present a compelling opportunity for new digital distribution partners, including mobile, OTT, and direct-to-consumer platforms and offerings.

Moffett Nathanson analysts told the BBC there could be advantages for Discovery following the merger, but the long-term issues faced by the companies probably won’t go away: "While there will likely be ample cost synergies, international revenue opportunities and improved relative scale, we don't think this merger will fundamentally alter the long-term prospects of these companies."

There was talk of the two companies combining in 2014, and more recently when Scripps fielded interest from Viacom, the owner of MTV, Comedy Central and the Paramount film studio. But after considering the options, Scripps decided the best option was to merge with Discovery.

US telecom giant AT&T made several executive appointments in late July in preparation for completing its acquisition of Time Warner Inc., the global media and entertainment leader with HBO, Turner, and Warner Bros. The transaction is currently under review by the United States Department of Justice and competition authorities in certain foreign countries.  

Effective August 1, new executives will assume new positions and will continue to report to AT&T Inc. Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson. “We look forward to completing the deal and delivering for customers the many benefits of this merger,” said Stephenson.

John Stankey, previously CEO of AT&T Entertainment Group, will assume the lead of AT&T’s Time Warner Merger Integration Planning Team. He will work closely with Time Warner Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Bewkes to plan for a smooth leadership transition to Stankey as CEO of AT&T’s media company once the merger is complete.

Previously Chief Strategy Officer and Group President of AT&T Technology Operations, John Donovan was named CEO of AT&T Communications, once the merger is complete, which includes AT&T’s Business Solutions, Entertainment Group, and Technology & Operations groups.

In addition, Lori Lee, who previously led AT&T’s Time Warner Merger Integration Team, will assume leadership with AT&T International, and maintain her responsibilities as Global Marketing Officer.

AT&T provides mobile, broadband and video services to US-based consumers and serves nearly 3.5 million businesses, from the smallest companies to nearly all the Fortune 1000. The company provides mobile services to more than 13 million consumers and businesses in Mexico, and pay-TV service to more than 13 million subscribers across 11 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean.