Andre Yoskowitz
31 Jul 2014 21:13
French carrier Iliad has made a surprise bid for U.S. carrier T-Mobile US, throwing its hat into the ring against Sprint and its owner SoftBank who have been working on an official bid for over six months.
The company offered $15 billion in cash for a majority 56.6 percent stake in the upstart carrier, which has been growing its subscribers at an impressive clip since starting its Uncarrier programs last year.
While the French bid appears to be inferior, it most likely has a better chance of succeeding than Sprint's, which will face heavy regulatory hurdles. "The U.S. mobile market is large and attractive," Iliad said. "T-Mobile US has successfully established a disruptive position, which in many ways, is similar to the one Iliad has built in France."
Of course, there are questions about the bid. Iliad has a market value of $16 billion, and T-Mobile has a value of about $27 billion so it is unclear how the financing will work although Iliad says the bid will be funded by debt and equity.
Source:
WSJ