T - AT&T Inc.
36.88 -0.24 (-0.65%)
Pre-market: 7:00AM EST
| Previous close | 37.35 |
| Open | 37.19 |
| Bid | 36.72 x 2200 |
| Ask | 36.85 x 3200 |
| Day's range | 36.92 - 37.78 |
| 52-week range | 29.67 - 39.70 |
| Volume | 40,059,544 |
| Avg. volume | 29,512,109 |
| Market cap | 266.114B |
| Beta (5Y monthly) | 0.58 |
| PE ratio (TTM) | 19.58 |
| EPS (TTM) | 1.89 |
| Earnings date | 21 Apr 2020 |
| Forward dividend & yield | 2.08 (5.61%) |
| Ex-dividend date | 08 Jan 2020 |
| 1y target est | 39.43 |
- Reuters
Senator Rubio seeks U.S. review of sale of AT&T unit to Czech-owned conglomerate
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio on Wednesday asked the Trump administration to review the national security implications of AT&T's Inc's planned sale of its majority stake in Central European Media Group Enterprises (CME) to the Czech-owned conglomerate PPF Group. Rubio, a Republican who chairs the bipartisan and bicameral Congressional-Executive Commission on China, wrote that the Czech company has a record of acting as "China's proxies inside the Czech Republic" and added that PPF-owned telecommunications firms are working with Huawei Technologies Co to develop 5G networks.
- Bloomberg
Disney's Next $180 Billion Won't Come Easy
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The streaming wars. The weaker box-office lineup. The economic trepidation. The coronavirus. All of that is taking Walt Disney Co. on a roller-coaster ride this year, and it makes sense that Bob Iger would rather watch from the safety of the ground than be strapped in the front seat. He’s earned it. Iger, who has been CEO of Disney since 2005, startled investors on Tuesday with his abrupt decision to step down, a move that wasn’t expected to happen until the end of next year. As soon as the subject line of the email from Disney appeared in my inbox at 4:06 pm on Tuesday, a cascade of negative thoughts raced through my mind: Is Iger sick? Is another Hollywood MeToo moment about to unfold? Was the company at risk of losing yet another successor candidate whose patience was tested by Iger’s continuously postponed retirement? The email went on to say that Iger is staying on only as chairman for his remaining 22 months, while Bob Chapek has stepped into the more hands-on and culpable role of CEO. Oh, to be a fly on the wall during those boardroom discussions, the only people who know why exactly the succession plans were sped up.But as the shock from the announcement subsides, and as financial markets remain in tumult, Iger’s unspoken logic behind the move — or at least part of it — makes more sense. Disney has a difficult year ahead, and the stock-market rout adds to the pressure. Why should Iger’s legacy be marked by such a tense final chapter? “It’s the right time to transition to a new CEO,” he said Tuesday, and maybe it really was. Iger signaled that in his remaining time at Disney, he’ll have a more amorphous role that involves working on the creative side to make sure he leaves it in top shape. But strategically, he’s done what he set out to, assembling what he thinks are the right collection of assets, and handing them off to Chapek.Iger, though himself a controversial CEO pick at the time, ended up reigniting Disney’s imagination and sense of magic, restoring a 97-year-old company to its heyday — better, even — accomplishing it all with his reputation for integrity intact. Disney’s market value increased by some $180 billion during his tenure, beating peers and the broader market. His acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm were a trifecta of genius, bringing more beloved characters into the Disney universe, elevating the company’s movie-making business, expanding its fan base and setting it up for later success in the streaming-TV era. Iger also expanded Disney’s theme parks and amplified their experience of being transported into a world of childlike wonderment through years of careful investment, capped by the 2016 opening of Shanghai Disney Resort and last year’s opening of the “Star Wars”-themed Galaxy’s Edge. Also last year, Disney delivered the highest-grossing film of all time, Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame.”But just as I wrote then, as “Endgame” headed for a record $2.8 billion in global ticket sales and after his string of successes, Iger would have a hard time outdoing himself. Disney’s scheduled box-office releases for 2020 have much less of a wow factor than last year’s, with “Avatar 2” pushed back to December 2021 and the next “Star Wars” film not coming until 2022. Then there’s the coronavirus. Disney, with its parks, cruise ships, hotels and movie business, will undoubtedly feel some painful effects of the potential pandemic. The Shanghai park, which Iger saw as the capstone project of his career, has already been closed for a month because of the flu-like virus. Earlier on Tuesday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Americans to prepare for possible closings of schools, sports arenas and other germ factories, calling it a matter of when, not if, the outbreak spreads in the country.Chapek, the new CEO, is a longtime Disney executive who has been running the company’s parks and resorts since 2015, and before that the consumer-products and home-video businesses. In his first Bloomberg Television appearance as Disney chief, he said he wasn’t ready to talk about how the coronavirus might affect Disney, but assured investors that “we’ll come back better and stronger than ever.” “Back” implies it’s going somewhere. And down is where the stock went Wednesday, bringing this year’s losses to 12%.As it is, the company’s investments in Disney+, its new streaming-TV service, are weighing on earnings. The launch of Disney+ went better than anyone expected, and it had 26.5 million subscribers as of December. But now comes the hard part: Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal will introduce its Peacock app in April, followed by AT&T Inc.’s spruced-up HBO Max in May. Apple TV+ could also pose a threat should Tim Cook decide to plow more money into the service. The early signups for Disney+ were easy wins. Keeping them will be harder and expensive, and those efforts will continue to disrupt the rest of the Disney empire. Iger could see his retirement date “out of the corner of my eye,” he wrote in a memoir, titled “The Ride of a Lifetime,” published in September. “It surfaces at unexpected times. It’s not enough to distract me, but it is enough to remind me that this ride is coming to an end.” In fact, the ride is about to get pretty wild. Maybe he saw that coming, too.To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Simply Wall St.
Did AT&T's (NYSE:T) Share Price Deserve to Gain 22%?
The simplest way to invest in stocks is to buy exchange traded funds. But if you pick the right individual stocks, you...
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, AT&T, International Business Machines and Microsoft
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: Apple, AT&T, International Business Machines and Microsoft
- Business Wire
AT&T to Webcast Talk with John Stankey at Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on March 3, 2020
AT&T Inc.* (NYSE:T) will webcast a talk by John Stankey, president and chief operating officer, AT&T Inc. and CEO, Warner Media LLC, at the Morgan Stanley Technology, Media and Telecom Conference on March 3, 2020 in San Francisco. The presentation is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. PT.
- Zacks
3 Blue-Chip Tech Stocks for Investors to Buy Now to Fight Coronavirus Fears
Check out these three blue-chip tech stocks that investors might want to buy now to help fight heightened coronavirus fears...
- Yahoo Finance
CNN and other outlets are in Donald Trump's 'crosshairs': WarnerMedia CEO
President Donald Trump doesn’t have a vendetta against CNN — he has one against all media outlets that do adversarial coverage, says John Stankey, who oversees CNN in his role as WarnerMedia CEO.
- Bloomberg
White House to Host Huawei Rivals at 5G Meeting, Kudlow Says
(Bloomberg) -- The White House plans to hold a conference with Huawei Technologies Co. rivals to try to accelerate development of affordable competing 5G wireless technology, President Donald Trump’s top economic adviser said Friday.“We’re working carefully, closely with Nokia and Ericsson,” National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow told reporters. “We’re going to be holding some kind of a conference in about a month. I’m sure the president would join us in part, that would include Samsung, that will include all of our guys.”He later told Fox Business that the meeting “might take place” in early April, and that companies including AT&T Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. and Qualcomm Inc. would be represented.The U.S. has engaged in a campaign to persuade other countries not to use Huawei equipment in emerging 5G networks, but the effort has faltered due to a lack of competing technology. Attorney General William Barr suggested recently the U.S. government or American companies should consider investing in Huawei competitors Nokia Oyj of Finland and Ericsson AB of Sweden to try to prevent the Chinese company’s technology from being widely adopted.Kudlow called the U.K. government’s attitude toward Huawei in particular “sub-optimal.” Trump has spoken repeatedly this month with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, berating him in at least one phone call for refusing to ban Huawei gear.“They have made some concessions about putting the lid on Huawei, but I’m an optimist, I believe we can work through it, they are our great allies,” Kudlow said.The U.S. alleges that the Chinese government will use equipment from the Shenzhen-based company to spy on nations that install it in their networks. Huawei has denied that the Chinese government controls the company or has access to its products.(Updates with details of conference in third paragraph. An earlier version corrected a misspelling of Huawei in the first paragraph.)\--With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs.To contact the reporter on this story: Josh Wingrove in Washington at jwingrove4@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, John Harney, Virginia Van NattaFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
T-Mobile, Sprint Revise Deal Terms After Regulatory Approval
(Bloomberg) -- T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. agreed to new terms for their pending merger that take account of the slide in Sprint shares since the transaction was first agreed, putting the industry-altering deal a step closer to completion.T-Mobile owners will get roughly 11 shares of Sprint for each of their stock, the companies said Thursday. That’s an increase from a ratio of 9.75 previously and is more favorable for T-Mobile’s German owner Deutsche Telekom AG.The equity value of the amended deal is about $37 billion compared with the original agreement of $26.5 billion, according to Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Erhan Gurses. The higher valuation partly reflects the 62% gain in T-Mobile shares since the all-stock transaction was announced almost two years ago, despite the deterioration in Sprint’s business.Getting one of the biggest U.S. wireless mergers ever over the finish line would be a boon for Deutsche Telekom as it will reduce its reliance on Europe, where carriers are struggling to grow amid fierce competition. T-Mobile makes up more than half of Deutsche Telekom’s sales, up from about a third in 2014. A completed deal will also benefit Sprint owner SoftBank Group Corp. by allowing its chairman, Masayoshi Son, to better focus on his technology investments and the $100 billion Vision Fund.The combined company, which will operate under the T-Mobile name, will have a regular monthly subscriber base of about 80 million -- in the same league as AT&T Inc., which has 75 million subscribers, and Verizon Communications Inc., which has 114 million.When the transaction closes, which could happen as soon as April 1, Deutsche Telekom is expected to keep 43% of the merged entity, while SoftBank has 24%. The rest will be held by public shareholders.Deutsche Telekom shares fell 1.3% to trade at 16.41 euros in Frankfurt. Sprint shares were up 5% to $9.96 at 11:01 a.m. in New York, while T-Mobile was down 1.8% to $97.73.The original accord, which united the third- and fourth-largest U.S. wireless carriers, was forged in April 2018. That pact lapsed on Nov. 1, and the companies didn’t initially renew the terms while they fought for government approval. When a federal judge rejected a state lawsuit to block the transaction earlier this month, that put the talks on the front burner.Along the way, Sprint’s condition has worsened. That added pressure to redraw the agreement so that it was more favorable to Deutsche Telekom.SoftBank agreed to surrender 48.8 million T-Mobile shares that it will acquire in the merger to the combined company immediately after the transaction closes. But those shares could be reissued to SoftBank by 2025 if the new company’s stock stays above $150 for a period of time.That arrangement -- having SoftBank relinquish the stock after the deal closes -- was structured so that the deal wouldn’t have to go before another shareholder vote.Sprint investors other than SoftBank will still get the original ratio of 0.10256 T-Mobile shares for each Sprint share -- the equivalent of about 9.75 Sprint shares for each T-Mobile share.Sprint’s monthly churn -- a closely watched measure of how many customers leave -- has risen to nearly 2%. That means roughly a quarter of its subscriber base is quitting the carrier each year. And the company isn’t making up for the decline by charging more: Average revenue per customer has fallen 5% since the deal was announced.Analysts such as LightShed Partners’ Walt Piecyk said the merger’s exchange ratio should be closer to 12, given Sprint’s deteriorated business.(Updates with valuation detail in third paragraph, updates share prices.)To contact the reporters on this story: Scott Moritz in New York at smoritz6@bloomberg.net;Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Jennifer RyanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
WarnerMedia CEO: Facebook needs 'editorial integrity' just like media companies
In a newly released interview, AT&T President and COO John Stankey says he’s “really concerned about the concentration of economic power” in big tech companies and how they approach their “platforms’ influence on society.”
- TechCrunch
WarnerMedia's new streaming service HBO Max is coming to YouTube TV, along with HBO & Cinemax
WarnerMedia and YouTube TV today announced a distribution deal that will bring HBO and Cinemax to the Google-owned live TV streaming service for the first time as well as, notably, WarnerMedia's new service HBO Max, set to launch this spring. Alternately, they'll be able to opt for HBO Max's expanded streaming service instead.
- Zacks
Can David Tepper Aid Intelsat (I) to Rebound From 2-Year Low?
Intelsat (I) seems to have found a savior in David Tepper as his hedge fund firm scooped up more than 2% shares in the firm.
- Investing.com
StockBeat: T-Mobile Parent Deutsche Telekom Eyes Rerating on Sprint Deal
By Geoffrey Smith
- Business Wire
AT&T Inc. Announces Issuance of Series B and Series C Preferred Shares
As described on the earnings call on January 29, 2020, AT&T (NYSE: T) ("AT&T") continues to add preferred equity to its capital structure, providing investors another alternative to invest in AT&T. AT&T announced today the issuance of €2,000,000,000 aggregate liquidation preference of its Fixed Rate Reset Perpetual Preferred Securities, Series B (20,000 shares, €100,000 liquidation preference per Preferred Security). AT&T also announced the issuance of $1,750,000,000 aggregate liquidation preference of its 4.750% Perpetual Preferred Stock, Series C (70,000,000 depositary shares, with a liquidation preference equivalent to $25.00 per depositary share). Proceeds from the issuances will be used for general corporate purposes.
- Zacks
Can Telecom ETFs Gain on Mixed Q4 Earnings Results?
We study the impact of a few big earnings releases in the telecommunications industry on ETFs with decent exposure to these companies.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Closing snapshot: Much about coronavirus and Italian shares
* Wall Street closed for Washington's Birthday Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of European equity markets brought to you by Reuters stocks reporters. You can share your thoughts with Thyagaraju Adinarayan (thyagaraju.adinarayan@tr.com), Joice Alves (joice.alves@tr.com), Julien Ponthus (julien.ponthus@tr.com) in London and Danilo Masoni (danilo.masoni@tr.com) in Milan.
- Reuters - UK Focus
LIVE MARKETS-Record-breaking dividends
- Bloomberg
Huawei Scare Pushes Carriers to Tackle Dominance of 5G Suppliers
(Bloomberg) -- With the U.S. campaign against Huawei Technologies Co. threatening to disrupt the rollout of 5G wireless networks, phone carriers are joining forces to develop technology that can reduce their reliance on a handful of powerful equipment suppliers.The Chinese company dominates the European market for telecommunications gear, ahead of Ericsson AB of Sweden and Finland’s Nokia Oyj. Governments are weighing whether to follow the U.K. and limit Huawei’s share of 5G networks over concerns -- denied by the company -- that it represents a security risk.If they do, it could knock the progress of 5G off course: The big three have designed a lot of their wireless gear so it can’t easily be integrated in the same network, much like an electric toothbrush only works with its own brush heads. So building 5G with Nokia or Ericsson kit on top of Huawei 4G infrastructure is fraught with complexity and costs.Companies including Deutsche Telekom AG and Vodafone Group Plc have decided to combine separate projects to develop a more standardized, flexible network architecture that would make it easier for carriers to use products from multiple vendors, according to people familiar with the matter.Under the plans, the O-RAN industry alliance, backed by Deutsche Telekom and AT&T Inc. among others, will align its work with the Telecom Infra Project, which was started by Facebook Inc. and is supported by several phone companies, said the people, who asked not to be named as the plans aren’t yet public.The industry is pursuing the efforts with greater urgency partly because they’re alarmed by the prospect of restrictions on Huawei in more markets such as Germany, one of the people said. The U.K.’s decision to limit Huawei’s share of broadband infrastructure already led BT Group Plc to predict a 500 million-pound ($650 million) hit to its finances.The carriers were planning to announce the O-RAN/TIP initiative at the wireless industry’s biggest annual showcase in Barcelona next week, before it was canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak, the people said. An announcement could instead come as early as this week.O-RAN’s goal from the start has been to “invite in more players with new ideas to help make the network stronger and more secure,” said Deutsche Telekom spokeswoman Pia Habel. She declined further comment.A spokeswoman for TIP declined to comment. A representative for O-RAN could not immediately be reached for comment.Negotiating PowerEnsuring that antennas, switches and other gear from competing suppliers can communicate seamlessly may also make it harder for any vendor -- Ericsson and Nokia included -- to clinch contracts just because the customer already uses its equipment. That could strengthen the negotiating position of carriers in contracts for 5G networks that are set to cost the industry hundreds of billions of dollars.AT&T has said it wants to replace the proprietary software that Nokia, Ericsson and Huawei use to run their wireless network gear with an open software.Vodafone has begun issuing small contracts for OpenRAN, an initiative backed by TIP to standardize radio access network hardware and software. CEO Nick Read said in October that Vodafone was “ready to fast track it into Europe as we seek to actively expand our vendor ecosystem.”O-RAN began in 2018 as a lobbying and research effort to make the radio access network -- the largest part of a wireless system -- more transparent and inter-operable. TIP is a broader project involving hundreds of companies working across all elements of networks.O-RAN and TIP may already be changing the economics of the industry and giving newer players more room. It’s now possible to design a “virtual” wireless network, which uses standardized, open-source software in conjunction with hardware from different vendors.Rakuten Inc. is using such technology to roll out a virtual network in Japan. U.S. satellite broadcaster Dish Network Corp., a member of the O-RAN alliance, aims to build a 5G network along similar lines.Ericsson and Nokia, reluctant to pick a fight with their biggest customers, have publicly welcomed O-RAN and TIP. Ericsson has joined O-RAN, while Nokia supports TIP and has been helping Rakuten build the Japanese network.Nokia Chief Executive Officer Rajeev Suri said in April last year it’s “better to be involved than not,” although he didn’t expect the model to be replicated in other parts of the world.\--With assistance from Thomas Seal, Angelina Rascouet, Niclas Rolander and Scott Moritz.To contact the reporters on this story: Stefan Nicola in Berlin at snicola2@bloomberg.net;Rodrigo Orihuela in Madrid at rorihuela@bloomberg.net;Natalia Drozdiak in Brussels at ndrozdiak1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Thomas Pfeiffer at tpfeiffer3@bloomberg.net, Jennifer RyanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Dealmakers, Beware: A ‘52-Headed Monster’ Is Watching
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The anything-goes world of megamergers under President Donald Trump has encountered new resistance. More than a dozen U.S. states sued to stop T-Mobile US Inc.’s takeover of Sprint Corp. and failed when a judge ruled against them this week. But their unusual effort to step in as de facto antitrust regulators in the era of a lax Trump administration — and the fact that the case was seen as such a close call — is sure to unnerve other dealmakers who may be contemplating their own controversial mergers and acquisitions. The Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission are the main regulatory bodies that deal-hungry telecommunications CEOs must appease to get their transactions over the antitrust hurdle. (Other industries may have to answer to the Federal Trade Commission.) But the states have emerged as one more powerful group to worry about. In the T-Mobile-Sprint matter, state attorneys general from around the country, led by New York and California, demonstrated a willingness to go beyond the convention of securing one-off concessions for their own constituents when a deal raises concerns. Instead, if regulators drop the ball, the states are prepared to team up and take companies to court, with proceedings that could potentially stretch on for months — and time is money. With the DOJ, FCC and now the states, it’s become “a three-headed monster,” said John Stephens, AT&T Inc.’s chief financial officer. “Or maybe a 52-headed monster, I should say,” he added, speaking during a post-earnings phone interview on Jan. 29, before the Sprint ruling.District Judge Victor Marrero ultimately ruled in favor of the wireless carriers this week, rejecting the states’ arguments that the merger will lead to higher prices for consumers and that wireless newbie Dish Network Corp. won’t become a viable competitor capable of replacing Sprint. The deal, which the companies expect to close by April, will shrink the number of U.S. national wireless carriers from four to three, a level of market concentration that was taboo under previous administrations.On the one hand, the ruling has the potential to open the floodgates for other megamergers that traditionally would have been considered off-limits. To use a hypohetical, take Dish and AT&T’s DirecTV: They compete in providing satellite-TV service to U.S. households, and both parties have said in the past that there would, in theory, be benefits to putting the businesses together, if not for the regulatory hurdles. (AT&T executives have since said they aren’t planning to sell DirecTV.) But just as T-Mobile and Sprint successfully argued that their industry is different now thanks to changing technologies, satellite providers could make that claim, too. Even so, the states’ persistence in the Sprint matter may make some would-be dealmakers think twice about how far they’re willing to go to get a transaction across the finish line. Keeping with the Dish-DirecTV example, those are precisely the kinds of well-known brands that the states could go after in a merger fight. And if it weren’t for the states, T-Mobile and Sprint would have had the major regulatory approvals they needed wrapped up months ago; FCC Chairman Ajit Pai gave his blessing back in May, and the Justice Department cleared the deal in July. As the battle with the states dragged on, Sprint’s market value shrank, its business deteriorated, and now T-Mobile wants to renegotiate the price it pays Sprint’s shareholders. In a bit of irony, the Federal Trade Commission said Tuesday that it’s looking into whether past purchases by U.S. technology giants such as Amazon.com Inc., Google and Facebook Inc. that slipped by regulators’ radars were, in fact, anticompetitive. The FTC’s announcement — part of the ongoing scrutiny of the power wielded by Big Tech — came hours after the ruling for T-Mobile’s acquisition of Sprint, one of the most anticompetitive megadeals in the tech sphere.Letitia James, the New York attorney general who led the T-Mobile-Sprint opposition, said in response to Tuesday’s court decision that while she disagrees with the outcome, the states “will continue to fight the kind of consumer-harming megamergers our antitrust laws were designed to prevent.” Think she means it?To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the business of entertainment and telecommunications, as well as broader deals. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinionSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
T-Mobile Parent Deutsche Telekom Seeks New Terms for Sprint Deal
(Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG wants to renegotiate the terms for the sale of Sprint Corp. to its U.S. wireless unit T-Mobile US Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.The German carrier, the majority owner of T-Mobile, is seeking a lower price because Sprint’s shares have been trading below their level when the deal was proposed in 2018, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the deliberations are private.Getting one of the biggest U.S. wireless mergers ever over the finish line would be a boon to both companies. For Deutsche Telekom, the deal reduces its reliance on Europe, where carriers are struggling to grow amid fierce competition. For the chairman of Sprint owner SoftBank Group Corp., Masayoshi Son, it allows him to better focus on his technology investments and the $100 billion Vision Fund. The renegotiation talks are expected to start soon, the people said. They would follow a victory for the companies in a U.S. court this week, when a federal judge rejected a state lawsuit against the tie-up. Now the deal is in the home stretch, with only minor approvals left to secure and final financial terms to be ironed out. SoftBank declined to comment. Deutsche Telekom didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment.Deutsche Telekom shares fell 1.4% in Frankfurt as of 12:58 p.m. on Thursday. What Bloomberg Intelligence Says:Deutsche Telekom has limited leverage to renegotiate the terms of its Sprint acquisition, we think, even as the valuation of the latter jumped to $75 billion from $60 billion in 2018 under the deal terms, despite worsening operational performance. The allure of consolidation, including the acquisition of an attractive spectrum portfolio, suggests only a modest potential improvement in stock-exchange ratio.\-- Erhan Gurses, BI telecoms analystClick here for the researchFrequency ConstraintsWhile Sprint’s standalone value has dropped, SoftBank also sees itself in a good position because T-Mobile needs Sprint’s wireless frequencies or would face capacity constraints within as little as two years, one of the people said.T-Mobile’s importance for Deutsche Telekom has grown steadily in recent years and it now accounts for about half of group sales, up from around a third in 2014. T-Mobile and Sprint haven’t renewed the merger agreement since it lapsed on Nov. 1, and there have been discussions regarding several issues that T-Mobile Chief Executive Officer John Legere described as “not hostile” that month on an investor call. T-Mobile has suggested there could be new terms.The combined company, which will operate under the T-Mobile name, will have a regular monthly subscriber base of about 80 million -- in the same league as AT&T Inc., which has 75 million subscribers, and Verizon Communications Inc., which has 114 million. T-Mobile will have more wireless frequencies than any other U.S. carrier, giving it an advantage as the industry transitions to the next generation of wireless technology, the much-faster 5G standard.Bloomberg News reported Wednesday that Sprint and SoftBank would likely have to accept a lower price than when the merger agreement was first forged in April 2018. Sprint’s monthly churn -- a closely watched measure of how many customers leave -- has risen to nearly 2%, which means roughly a quarter of its subscriber base is quitting the carrier each year.The German company is likely to leverage that to negotiate a lower price, but Sprint also has valuable radio frequency spectrum without which T-Mobile US will face serious bottlenecks, a person familiar with the matter told Bloomberg on Wednesday.The Financial Times previously reported that Deutsche Telekom is pushing to renegotiate terms of the deal, citing unidentified people familiar with the matter.(Updates with analyst comment in fifth paragraph)\--With assistance from Stefan Nicola.To contact the reporters on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net;Scott Moritz in New York at smoritz6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Thomas Pfeiffer, Jennifer RyanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.
- Zacks
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and Dish Network
The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights: T-Mobile, Sprint, Verizon, AT&T and Dish Network
- Zacks
T-Mobile-Sprint Merger Gets Federal Judge's Nod, Stocks Rally
T-Mobile (TMUS) and Sprint (S) advocate the idea that the merger would prepare the New T-Mobile to compete with arch-rivals and lead to lower prices for Americans with faster Internet speeds.
