AT&T has unveiled that it is planning to purchase the Leap Wireless, a prepaid wireless provider, along with its retail stores, network assets, licenses and subscribers. The £0.77 billion worth of acquisition includes licenses for the AWS and PCS bands. Leap’s unused spectrum would help to bolster AT&T’s 4G LTE implementations.
Under Cricket Communications, the 3G CDMA network operated by Leap caters to nearly 100 million subscribers and 21 million 4G LTE subscribers across the country. The business decision will kick off the company’s foray into the prepaid market and AT&T said that it will still retain the popular Cricket brand name.
The actual acquisition value is £2 billion, if we factor in Leap’s £1 billion of debt and shares valued at £9 each. The acquisition is subject to reviews by the US Department of Justice and the FCC.
A couple of years ago, U.S. regulators blocked AT&T plan to purchase T-Mobile for £25 billion on antitrust grounds. This is unlikely to repeat since Leap is not a major operator in the United States.
