T-Mobile tower sale could net nearly $3 billion for Deutsche Telekom

A sale of T-Mobile's tower system could net parent company Deutsche Telekom as much as $3 billion in an auction. According to Macquarie analyst Kevin Smithen, American Tower Corp., Crown Castle International Corp. and SBA Communications Corp are all interested in the towers. The analyst estimates that the towers could fetch $2.25 billion although competitive bidding could bring the price to as much as $3 billion. T-Mobile is looking to sell the towers to fund the purchase of additional spectrum, and an LTE network and to sign Prince Fielder according to Deutsche Telekom's CFO Timotheus Hoettges. The carrier would then lease back the same towers from the company that buys them.

The 7,500 cell towers owned by T-Mobile is the largest number of such towers currently up for sale. Sprint did a sale-leaseback three years ago when it sold 3,080 towers to TowerCo for $680 million. Sprint used the proceeds to reduce debt. Thanks to the leaseback arrangement, T-Mobile will not be losing any tower space nor will it lose any areas of coverage.

AT&T Cancels Bid For T-Mobile

After nine months of AT&T fiercely defending its $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA in public and in court, the company finally agreed on Monday to end its takeover effort. When a hotly contested $39 billion takeover falls apart, plenty of parties will have something to say. And so AT&T’s decision drew a slew of responses from the deal’s chief opponents, including government regulators and corporate rivals like Sprint Nextel.

Both companies are in agreement that the broad opposition by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the U.S. telecommunications regulator (FCC) is making it increasingly unlikely that the transaction will close. Both companies are of the opinion that important arguments in support of the transaction have been ignored, such as the significant improvement in high-speed mobile network coverage for the U.S. market, as well as the positive employment effects. In addition there was no indication that either authority would move away from its non-supportive stance in return for concessions from the parties in terms of the scope and structure of the transaction.

This is the right decision for consumers, competition and innovation in the wireless industry. From the beginning, Sprint has stood with consumers who spoke loudly and clearly that AT&T’s proposed takeover of T-Mobile would create an undeniable duopoly that would have resulted in higher prices, less innovation and fewer choices for the American consumer.

More information's:
AT&T Cancels Bid For T-Mobile

AT&T Cancels Deal to Buy T-Mobile: