T-Mobile CEO Sievert shuts down rumors of a UScellular acquisition without closing the door،
Last year, USCELL was reportedly put up for sale, and T-Mobile was rumored to be floating a potential purchase. The aim was to help T Mobile achieve its goal of a 20% market share in rural America by 2025. In September, when this rumor began to spread, T Mobile held 16.5% of the rural market.
When the carrier's CEO, Mike Sievert, was asked if
T Mobile “Maybe, but I really like our Plan A.” He also said that “hurdles to mergers and acquisitions would be high,” which could have meant financial or regulatory hurdles. The rumors have since calmed down, although
SDx Central reports that something big happened during the company's recent fourth-quarter earnings conference call.
During the call, T Mobile Chief Financial Officer Peter Osvaldik said the wireless provider will continue to review its “capital allocation methodology,” which seeks the highest value creation opportunities available to the company. This includes continued investment in its network and growth of its core and “adjacent” businesses. The executive went on to say, “Then, of course, we'll look at all the other things beyond that, whether it's fiber optics, whether it's U.S. cell, we'll look at that process and will see if there are opportunities to create value. “.
Mike Sievert, CEO of T-Mobile
The fifth-largest wireless carrier in the United States, USCELL is owned by Telephone and Data Systems Inc., which announced last year that it was exploring “strategic alternatives” for its wireless operations. T Mobile could have some competition for UScellular. Even though Dish Networks is in serious financial trouble, Tom Cullen, executive vice president of corporate development at Dish, gave some good reasons why his company would be interested in UScellular.
“They have towers, they have spectrum and they operate in geographies that we haven't fully built out yet, so that would be something that we would be interested in,” Cullen said. And the same reasons could apply to T Mobilethe company's interest in the company.
But as he did in September, Sievert shut down the rumors without completely closing the door. “We don't see much on the horizon that could cause us to slow our pace, and I think that's an important calculation,” Sievert said. “If something came up that made a lot of sense to shareholders, our job is to present it to you. But right now we don't see it.”
