AT&T has officially announced that they have reached a deal to purchase prepaid U.S. cell carrier Leap Wireless for a total of $1.19B. The carrier, which operates under the name Cricket in the U.S., is among the largest dedicated pre-paid providers in the U.S.
The deal amounts to $15 per share of the company, and grants AT&T exclusive rights to all of the carrier’s network spectrum, retail stores, and licenses, and would serve to significantly boost AT&T’s position in the U.S. cellular services market. It would also bring all of Leap’s 96 million current subscribers to AT&T. The deal would also greatly expand AT&T’s current spectrum, allowing them addition room to expand their network for additional customers.
The acquisition still needs to be approved by the Federal Communications Commission and the Department of Justice – which could take up to 6 months, assuming they don’t deny the acquisition on the grounds of AT&T attempting to monopolize the industry by buying up their competition.
On the bright side – at least for AT&T – this acquisition should be significantly less likely to be denied than their previous failed attempt to purchase T-Mobile’s U.S. network…
For more details, check out AT&T’s full press release on the matter. We’ll keep you updated if and when we know more!
