merger

Sprint gets OK from SoftBank to explore rival Dish offer

Sprint Nextel has received approval from SoftBank to continue talking to Dish Network about its rival takeover offer, the carrier said Monday.

Sprint has already agreed upon a deal in which it would merge with SoftBank, a wireless carrier based in Japan. But Dish last week launched a sweetened $25.5 billion bid for Sprint.

The carrier said Monday that it had gotten a waiver from SoftBank to clarify and obtain additional information on the Dish proposal. Sprint is now able to enter into a non-disclosure agreement with Dish, although it is not able to provide Dish with non-public information. … Read more

Verizon prepping bid for Vodafone's share of Verizon Wireless, says report

Could Verizon and Vodafone be getting closer to ending their joint ownership of Verizon's wireless business?

Reuters reported Wednesday that Verizon has hired banking and legal advisers to put together a $100 billion bid for Vodafone's share of Verizon Wireless, the No. 1 wireless carrier in the U.S., and that Verizon's board is expected to discuss details of a potential buyout next week, at a meeting prior to its annual shareholder meeting.

Unnamed sources told the news agency that Verizon is confident it can raise about $50 billion from bank financing and that the rest of … Read more

Dish tells FCC its Sprint buyout is 'better for national security'

It appears that when Dish wants something it doesn't give up.

After making a surprise bid of $25.5 billion to acquire Sprint on Monday -- which would snatch the mobile provider from the hands of Japan's SoftBank -- Dish submitted a filing to the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday claiming a SoftBank acquisition of Sprint wouldn't be good for U.S. national security.

According to Reuters, Dish requested that the FCC suspend the review of SoftBank's possible buyout of Sprint. In the filing, Dish claimed that Softbank didn't have the "existing in-market infrastructure&… Read more

Google acquires Android mobile-data firm Behavio

Google has snapped up Behavio, the fledgling company behind Funf, the Android "open sensing" framework that aimed to provide better access to, and use of information from, smartphones using Google's mobile OS.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Behavio's most notable achievement is the Funf framework, which gathers vast amounts of data about people and their location by way of their phone. By using information about people in combination with other data about their surrounding area, Behavio can better predict their future actions -- for example, places they're most likely to visit next … Read more

Softbank confident of Sprint deal, despite Dish's $25B bid

Calling Dish Network's rival bid for Sprint Nextel "highly conditional," Softbank said tonight it is going ahead with its merger proposal for the troubled carrier and expects to close the deal this summer.

The satellite TV provider submitted a merger proposal this morning valued at $25.5 billion, a 13 percent premium over the Japanese wireless carrier's merger proposal, which offered $20.1 billion for a controlling stake in Sprint.

"Softbank believes that the agreed terms of our transaction with Sprint offer Sprint shareholders superior short- and long-term benefits to Dish's highly conditional preliminary … Read more

MetroPCS urges investors to vote for latest T-Mobile deal

MetroPCS is asking its stockholders to give the thumbs-up to the latest buyout bid from T-Mobile USA parent Deutsche Telekom.

Following months of talks with MetroPCS, Deutsche Telekom finally sweetened its buyout offer Thursday, prompting the board of MetroPCS to amend its terms for the proposed merger.

Amid some concerns over the deal, Deutsche Telekom reduced the amount of debt the combined company would take on from $15 billion to $11.2 billion. The interest on the debt will also be lowered by 50 basis points, allowing the combined company to more easily pay it back.

To address fears that … Read more

Dish's 'Seinfeld' play: Sprint ties it all together

Dish founder Charlie Ergen is clearly a massive "Seinfeld" fan.

Ergen wasn't shy about providing a shout-out to Jerry Seinfeld's classic situation comedy in discussing Dish's proposed $25.5 billion bid for Sprint Nextel.

In fact, Ergen compared his strategy to an episode of Seinfeld: 28 minutes filled with a lot of scenes that don't make sense, and a final two minutes where everything comes together.

For Dish, Sprint represents that final two minutes. The deal would be the linchpin to a strategy that Ergen said has been in the works for years. Ergen, … Read more

No new terms for T-Mobile-MetroPCS merger, Deutsche Telekom says

Looks like there won't be any sweetened deal terms for the T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger, as much as MetroPCS shareholders may wish.

Deutsche Telekom, speaking with FierceWireless, refuted a Reuters report from earlier today that it was considering changing the terms of the merger agreement reached in October.

"We are not considering changing the terms of the proposed merger," DT spokesman Philipp Kornstaedt told FierceWireless.

The company later gave CNET this statement:

In response to a variety of published rumors and reports, Deutsche Telekom clarifies that it has no comment as to possible changes to the terms of … Read more

Verizon denies Vodafone buyout

Contradicting a report from earlier today, Verizon said it has no plans to acquire Vodafone, either on its own or with a bidding partner.

Citing "usually reliable people," the Financial Times had reported that Verizon was teaming with AT&T to buy Vodafone, in a deal worth $245 billion.

Under the deal, the FT reported, Verizon would acquire the 45 percent stake Vodafone currently owns in its U.S. operations. The remainder of Vodafone's business outside the U.S. would go to AT&T.

But in a regulatory filing made today in response to media … Read more