Fresh off its $1.3 billion purchase of Mint Mobile, T-Mobile appears to have its next mobile industry acquisition already lined up – a multi-billion dollar deal to acquire a significant portion of regional carrier U.S. Cellular. According to reports, Verizon is also angling to snap up the remaining U.S. Cellular assets as part of a two-way split of the company.
The Wall Street Journal cites sources familiar with the matter stating that T-Mobile is nearing the completion of negotiations to buy a major chunk of U.S. Cellular’s operations and spectrum licenses for around $2 billion. Verizon had been pursuing the rest of U.S. Cellular’s holdings, though those talks have allegedly stalled for unknown reasons.
U.S. Cellular has reportedly been seeking potential buyers for some time now. By dividing its assets between T-Mobile and Verizon, the two industry giants likely aim to avoid any antitrust concerns that could arise from a single outright acquisition.
Notably, U.S. Cellular’s portfolio of around 4,000 cellular towers is expected to be carved out and sold separately from the deals with the major carriers, who are primarily after the regional provider’s customer base and wireless spectrum.
In the event that Verizon and U.S. Cellular’s negotiations fail to result in an agreement, it is unclear if T-Mobile will pursue buying all available assets instead of just the portion that is presently under discussion.
Adding millions more users and U.S. Cellular’s important mid-band spectrum would help T-Mobile expand its nationwide network coverage and strengthen its position against competitors.
