Comcast Eyeing T-Mobile?

[codesplice]

From Reuters:

Deutsche Telekom is in talks with U.S. cable company Comcast about a potential sale of T-Mobile US, German Manager Magazin reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

Deutsche Telekom is in talks with several parties, including satellite provider Dish, according to the magazine, but Comcast is viewed as a more attractive buyer by the German telecoms provider's management.

Comcast would be a better candidate as it is financially stronger and would be able to make an offer to buy all shares in T-Mobile US, Manager Magazine reported.

Earlier this month a person familiar with the matter said T-Mobile US and Dish were in merger talks.

Comcast walked away from buying Time Warner Cable for $45 billion in April, citing regulatory concerns.

Deutsche Telekom declined to comment, while Comcast was not immediately reachable for comment outside regular business hours.

Aren't Comcast and T-Mobile pretty much polar opposites? I don't want this to happen.

 

[kate]

Lately it seems Deutsche Telekom really wants to sell T-Mobile, first Sprint then Dish and now Comcast. Not sure I'd want Comcast owning them either.

 

[Crashdamage]

Agreed. If Comcast buys T-Mobile, no doubt that would be the end of the Uncarrier as we know it.

Dish expressed an interest a while back, and with the unused bandwidth Dish holds a merger with them makes a fair amount of sense. Maybe Comcast sticking their nose in will motivate Dish to get something done.

Then there's Google, who now has ties with T-Mobile via Project Fi. If T-Mobile is bought by Comcast, what happens to Project Fi? Fi will go nowhere if Comcast pulls T-Mobile out of Fi, Sprint alone cannot keep Fi viable as Google envisioned it. So...might Google jump in?

Anything could happen...

 

[codesplice]

Whew, crisis averted: http://arstechnica.com/business/2015/06/comcast-reportedly-trying-to-buy-t-mobile/

Updated @ 10:47 EST, 15:47 BST: A source familiar with Comcast's thinking told Ars after this article published that it is not interested in buying T-Mobile. The source requested anonymity because the company tries to avoid making official comments on rumored mergers.

Since 2012, Comcast has has a commercial partnership with Verizon Wireless that allows it to sell Verizon Wireless products in bundles with Comcast cable services. This partnership would also allow Comcast to resell Verizon Wireless service under its own name beginning next year.

"Four years from signing, Comcast could become a reseller of Verizon Wireless' service through a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) agreement. Comcast could purchase Verizon Wireless' service at wholesale rates and then market and sell its own, branded wireless service in connection with our bundled offerings, creating more choice for consumers," Comcast's December 2011 announcement of the agreement said. The deal was approved by the FCC with some conditions in 2012.

So it sounds like it was really more like "Deutsche Telecom eyeing Comcast" than the other way around.