Posts with tag VZ
Posted Jun 30th 2008 12:00PM by Tom Taulli
Filed under: Investments
I've seen it many times: a cool product that finds few customers. That seems to be the case with Helio's mobile phones. Basically, customers didn't want to pay premium prices for such things as access to MySpace and other new-fangled features.
It's a tough lesson, and expensive. SK Telecom and EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK) formed Helio as a joint venture in 2005 with start-up capital of $440 million. SK Telecom invested an additional $270 million in the venture last year.
Yet, in the end, Helio turned out to be a big dud. That is, the company sold out for a measly $39 million to Virgin Mobile USA (NYSE: VM). In fact, the space is full of dead companies, such as Disney Mobile and Amp'd Mobile.
I had a chance to interview Frank Dickson, the co-founder and chief research officer of MultiMedia Intelligence. According to him:
Honestly, the merger is a desperate move. Overall, the MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) model makes sense in a limited number of situations. For example, if a cable MSO wants to leverage its customer base and offer triple or quadruple play offering, there is a clear distinctive competency and the MVNO route makes sense.
Continue reading Virgin Mobile buys Helio for chump change
Posted Jun 4th 2008 2:36PM by Jon Ogg
Filed under: Deals, Rumors, Texas Pacific Group, GS Capital Partners, Public or private?
According to a fresh report out of CNBC's David Faber, Alltel may soon be acquired by
Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:
VZ). Faber just noted that the companies are in advanced talks to acquire the current private equity held telecom operator by TPG and GSCP, which are
Texas Pacific Group and
Goldman Sachs Capital Partners.
Alltel went private last year and has somewhere in the vicinity of 13 million wireless subscribers. The value of that deal was in the 427 to $27.5 billion range, and interestingly enough this new deal may not be at any or at much of a premium to that price.
If there is any company that can acquire this and not have all the credit rating issues and not run into multiple bank debt issues like private equity, then it is Verizon. There are a couple of other players like
AT&T (NYSE:
T) or some foreign-owned carriers that could swing it too.
Read more about the full implications for the sector and which other companies might be affected by this deal at 247WallSt.com.BloggingBuyouts is provided for informational purposes only. Nothing on the service is intended to provide personally tailored advice concerning the nature, potential, value or suitability of any particular security, portfolio or securities, transaction, investment strategy or other matter. You are solely responsible for any investment decisions that you make. The contributors who provide the content of BloggingBuyouts may, from time to time, hold positions in the securities discussed at the time of writing and they may trade for their own accounts. Such holdings will be disclosed at the time of writing. By using the site, you agree to abide to BloggingBuyouts' Terms of Use.
