Walter Reed Insight: Mobile Consolidation Picks Up Speed

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© 2012 Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP & Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP Walter Reed, Edwards Wildman Insight Mobile Consolidation Picks Up Speed

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Walter Reed, partner at Edwards Wildman, explains the recent trend of mobile consolidation.

Transcript of Walter Reed Insight: Mobile Consolidation Picks Up Speed

Page 1: Walter Reed Insight: Mobile Consolidation Picks Up Speed

© 2012 Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP & Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP

Walter Reed, Edwards Wildman InsightMobile Consolidation Picks Up Speed

Page 2: Walter Reed Insight: Mobile Consolidation Picks Up Speed

Strategic Consolidation Deals

Mobile carriers are working together to get the best spectrum for their companies, and the deals are making the headlines:

♦ Sprint To Buy Out Clearwire (December 2012)

♦ Will Dish Get Clearwire (January 2013)

♦ AT&T Will Buy Some Verizon Spectrum for $1.9 Billion (January 2013)

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Sprint To Buy Out Clearwire

♦ In December, Sprint made a $2.2 billion offer to buy the remaining 50% stake of Clearwire (it already owns the other 50%). The deal is still being reviewed.

♦ Sprint was able to make the offer due to a $20.1 billion transaction agreement with SoftBank of Japan this past October.♦ Sprint has already received $3.1 billion in convertible debt. The

rest of the transaction is to be done after regulatory approval.♦ The DOJ, FBI and Department of Homeland Security are now

investigating the merger for national security and law enforcement issues.

♦ Also of note, Sprint’s purchase of Clearwire is contingent on its ability to complete the Softbank deal

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Will Dish Get Clearwire?

♦ About one month after Sprint offered to buy Clearwire, Dish made an unsolicited move for the company.

♦ Dish outbid Sprint, offering to pay $3.30 per share, or $5.15 billion.

♦ To make the deal even sweeter for Clearwire, Dish is offering to buy 24% of Clearwire’s spectrum for $2.2 billion and provide $800 million of additional financial support.

♦ Analysts believe that Clearwire will not accept Dish’s offer due to various factors, including the fact that Sprint already owns a majority stake in Clearwire, and Clearwire can’t sell spectrum without Sprint’s consent.

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AT&T Will Buy Some Verizon Spectrum for $1.9 Billion

♦ AT&T has signed an agreement to buy spectrum licenses from its main competitor, Verizon, for $1.9 Billion

♦ This purchase will cover 42 million people across 18 states, expanding AT&T’s 4G LTE network

♦ AT&T’s LTE has been deployed in 135 cities, whereas Verizon has LTE in 476 cities.

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Walter Reed’s Insight on Mobile Consolidation

“News of Dish’s unsolicited offer to buy the remainder of Clearwire was a major shock to the mobile industry and my colleagues at Edwards Wildman…Dish’s offer was higher than Sprint’, but it’s hard to believe that the bid will result in a deal.”

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“In the end, technology is moving quickly, but change seems to be slow-going. This deal is certainly an important one for Sprint and Clearwire, but consumers might have to be patient to see any noticeable changes.” – Walter Reed