Seidenberg plays tough on Verizon Wireless 8 Jan 2010 Verizon Communications' boss is saying dividends from the U.S. mobile joint venture with Vodafone might be delayed again and is downplaying any other solution to the troubled structure. But that's unsurprising. Saying otherwise would weaken his negotiating position.
Googlephone’s influence more important than sales 14 Dec 2009 The search giant is escalating its effort to upend the mobile market by introducing its own phone. Google's interest in selling it without subsidies means the device probably won't be a huge hit. But the handset is an important showpiece for the company's mobile operating system.
Operators start to choke on iPhone growth 10 Dec 2009 Mobile data use is rocketing AT&T's U.S. traffic has increased more than 50fold over the past three years. Data revenues aren't growing fast enough to generate an attractive return on the needed capital expenditure. Something has to give.
France Telecom’s Swiss merger betters UK model 25 Nov 2009 The French operator is bigger in the UK than Deutsche Telekom, but still had to settle for a 5050 joint venture. In Switzerland, it s smaller than Denmark s TDC, but if the regulator approves, FT will get 75 percent. FT gains from TDC s private equity owners desire for an exit.
Cable & Wireless demerger comes to life 17 Nov 2009 The UK telco has clarified management and the carveup of pension liabilities for its forthcoming separation. It is also launching a £200m convertible to smooth the transition to separate capital structures. At last, this longawaited demerger looks credible.
Citi’s EMI burden may not be so painful 16 Nov 2009 The US bank has understandably rebuffed proposals from EMI s privateequity owners to restructure its £2.7bn debt. Backing the music group just as the credit boom was ending was a bad call by Citi. But the loan may prove more harmful to the bank s reputation than its finances.
Liberty’s E4bn cable buy is peep of M&A normality 13 Nov 2009 Apollo and BC Partners ditched plans to float German cable business Unitymedia when trade buyer Liberty Global surfaced with an opportunistic bid. The private equity firms get a clean exit and Liberty buys growth without paying a fat premium. It's classic downturn dealmaking.
Sprint bets the farm on WiMax standard 9 Nov 2009 The US carrier s customers are melting away. Yet it has scrimped on capex to double down on wireless broadband. Putting another $1bn into cashburning group Clearwire, while a rival technology is catching up, amounts to a binary bet for shareholders.
Cable & Wireless fluffs a sensible demerger 5 Nov 2009 The once troubled UK telco has transformed itself into two profitable, geographically distinct businesses. A demerger announcement has come at the right time. But management has messed up by accompanying it with a profit warning instead of detail on how the split will work.
Telefónica puts the screws on Vivendi in Brazil 4 Nov 2009 The Spanish operator had already topped the French media group s offer for Brazilian telecom upstart GVT. Telefónica has now raised its bid by 5% more to $3.8bn. As a result of Brazilian takeover laws, that leaves Vivendi even further in the dust.
Unitymedia opens private-equity cable harvest 4 Nov 2009 The IPO of Germany s number two cable operator could be the first of several from the sector. But while cable has weathered the recession well, valuations are still recovering. Unitymedia s owners, BC Partners and Apollo, would be well advised not to try selling down too much.
Vodafone’s India push gets more costly 2 Nov 2009 First Spain, then Turkey, now India. The subcontinent is the mobile group s latest problem area. Vodafone faces a price war, a $2bn tax claim, and the exercise of a $5bn put option by local partner Essar. The real cost of the 2007 deal taking Vodafone into India is now emerging.
Virgin Media turnaround could be short-lived 29 Oct 2009 Two years ago, the UK cable operator was a struggling takeover target. But a strong set of quarterly numbers reinforces its ongoing transformation. The risk for investors is that Virgin fails to act swiftly to protect the broadband network core to its claimed competitive edge.
BSkyB must maintain financial discipline 23 Oct 2009 The UK payTV operator has demonstrated surprising resilience through the recession, while continuing to invest. The balance sheet is strong, with debt at less than twice its ebitda. Sky should weigh carefully the balance between continued investment and shareholder dividends.
Telefónica still setting European telecom standard 9 Oct 2009 The Spanish operator is boosting next year s dividend by 22% another bullish sign from an operator that has outperformed its peers by a wide margin. The shares have done well, but there could be more upside, as long as Telefónica keeps hitting its targets.
Telefónica spoils Vivendi’s Brazilian foray 8 Oct 2009 The French media group s E2bn bid for the telecom upstart GVT has now been challenged by Telefónica s Brazilian arm, Telesp. It s easy to see why Vivendi wants in on the hot market, but Telesp s ability to reap synergies gives it an edge in sealing the deal.
AT&T tests telephone-free life 7 Oct 2009 The US wireless carrier will allow customers to use internet phone services over its mobile network. Landline operators long worried they would become lowvalue data networks. The same threat now applies in wireless. Consumers should benefit, but carriers will have to adapt.
Cisco’s restraint on $3bn deal hard to sustain 1 Oct 2009 The US networking giant s acquisition of the Norwegian Tandberg is its largest ever overseas. It s a sensible use of cash given the promise Cisco sees for video conferencing. But the bigger Cisco gets, the more discipline it will need to avoid overreach on future deals.
Bharti-MTN better apart than in half-baked union 30 Sep 2009 South Africa s insistence that MTN must retain its national identity has proved an immoveable obstacle to the telco s proposed $22bn shareswap with Indian rival Bharti. With no guarantee the tieup would ever lead to a fullblown synergistic merger, terminating talks is wise.
Smartphone makers not all better than average 25 Sep 2009 Basic mobile phone handset sales have matured. So manufacturers tout the prospects of their advanced models. Investors seem to think every firm can sew up the market. The lukewarm quarterly report from BlackBerry maker RIM signals more disappointments ahead for the credulous.