AT&T drops bid to acquire T-Mobile

2

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by easy288 View Post


    And guess who will ultimately pay for the $3 to $4 billion failed merger costs? You guessed it, AT&T customers. I already expect the annual January $3 increase for my landline, just like the last three years. I fully expect another increase for my dsl also.



    Shame for you guys, but you'd be paying much, much more had it gone through.
  • Reply 22 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by easy288 View Post


    And guess who will ultimately pay for the $3 to $4 billion failed merger costs? You guessed it, AT&T customers. I already expect the annual January $3 increase for my landline, just like the last three years. I fully expect another increase for my dsl also.



    Not really. The US Taxpayer will pay for about $2 Billion of it due to the tax write off.



    Way to go DOJ/FCC: Stop a US based company from buying wireless spectrum that is owned by a German company and now we, the US Taxpayer, must pay for much of the backout fee.
  • Reply 23 of 44
    Prediction: TMobile will be dead and gone (or sold off in pieces) in less than a year. Shareholders will be smart to (and probably will) take the $4B and run.
  • Reply 24 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mcarling View Post


    This is a huge win for every US mobile phone customer and a minor win for every mobile phone customer outside the US.



    I just hope this means my t-mobile moderate map coverage will actually yield a signal. This has been the worst cell phone service I have ever had. Here's hoping I will get something better before my contract ends.



    I was actually looking forward to a merger so I could get into an AT&T plan that has service in my area. Now that's gone down the drain. Oil well...
  • Reply 25 of 44
    mac_dogmac_dog Posts: 1,069member
    at&t has done NOTHING for years to reinforce their infrastructure. they've been completely complacent in reaping in the profits while providing sub-standard service.



    then, they tell everyone they're upgrading their infrastructure. rather than actually upgrade their existing infrastructure, they decide to purchase t-mobile.



    fuckers. glad they dropped their bid. and, finally, the feds actually did something right.
  • Reply 26 of 44
    Quote:

    or if it would still need to develop a unique version of the iPhone to sell on the carrier, which uses a different AWS band for 3G service than the rest of the GSM/UMTS world.



    why do I think that Apple won't be making that unique version for T-Mobile and they will only gain the iPhone when it goes LTE and then only if it can fall back on Edge.
  • Reply 27 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_dog View Post


    at&t has done NOTHING for years to reinforce their infrastructure. they've been completely complacent in reaping in the profits while providing sub-standard service.



    then, they tell everyone they're upgrading their infrastructure. rather than actually upgrade their existing infrastructure, they decide to purchase t-mobile.



    fuckers. glad they dropped their bid. and, finally, the feds actually did something right.





    You have NO clue what you are talking about. AT&T has spent more than any other company to build its wireless infrastructure. IGNORANT fool.
  • Reply 28 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by k2director View Post




    All the government and its mindless supporters have done is interfere with a natural elimination of weaker competitors, which is necessary to maintain a healthy industry where companies are in a position to make money and thrive. Our ever-meddling government not only prevented that essential act from happening in this particular case, but it's also discouraged many similarly necessary acts from occurring in the future, because companies will fear wasting untold time and money pursuing acquisitions that a fickle government can nix at any time.



    ...





    All it's good for are a bunch of government bureaucrats who need to justify their salaries and lord over people they have no business interfering with.










    The government bureaucrats started it all a long time ago, when they broke up AT&T. Would we all be better today off had they not done that?
  • Reply 29 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by easy288 View Post


    And guess who will ultimately pay for the $3 to $4 billion failed merger costs? You guessed it, AT&T customers. I already expect the annual January $3 increase for my landline, just like the last three years. I fully expect another increase for my dsl also.



    Nope. Companies can't raise their prices just because their costs have gone up.



    The shareholders will pay for it. They already have.
  • Reply 30 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by anantksundaram View Post


    Prediction: TMobile will be dead and gone (or sold off in pieces) in less than a year. Shareholders will be smart to (and probably will) take the $4B and run.



    We could use a good place to keep track of all these predictions. We see a lot of them here.



    Somebody should start a web-accessible calendar that would hod them and we could see which ones have come true as the years roll by.



    Six months from now, the Google Tab is due. In 12 months, TMo dead. What else?
  • Reply 31 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SolipsismX View Post


    "Net income, meanwhile is at $332 million -- up 57-percent from Q2 2011 and four-percent from Q3 2010. The quarter also saw the addition of 126,000 customers [to 33 million] […] a marked improvement from the loss of 50,000 last quarter." Doesn't sound that bad to me.





    It's Not about T-Mobile USA only. T-Mobile USA is owned by the Deutsche Telecom (DT) of Germany who are in serious debt trouble. In current financial crisis especially in Europe, they are desperate to reduce their debt and that needs a huge amount of cash.



    Selling the US operation can give it the needed cash, holding onto the operation and the 332 million yearly profit will not help much. DT is looking to cut debt by $16.9 billion. At $332 million a year, it would take 50 years to achieve that goal. So, the solution is to sell it at $ 39 billion.



    Look in this article <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-19/at-t-pulls-39-billion-t-mobile-bid-after-regulator-opposition.html>. Bloomberg is a much more reliable source than Engadget for financial matters.
  • Reply 32 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mac_dog View Post


    at&t has done NOTHING for years to reinforce their infrastructure. they've been completely complacent in reaping in the profits while providing sub-standard service.



    then, they tell everyone they're upgrading their infrastructure. rather than actually upgrade their existing infrastructure, they decide to purchase t-mobile.



    fuckers. glad they dropped their bid. and, finally, the feds actually did something right.



    Are you an AT&T user?



    If yes, why did you hold onto them when you have other options?



    If no, your comments have no value at all.



    Either way, you look like a loser, trying to attract attention.
  • Reply 33 of 44
    1) That's for last quarter not last year.



    2) You can cut debt by dropping your cost centers better than you can by severing ties to profit centers.



    3) They are getting 1/4th their debt cut from AT&T. That should give DT a little breathing room.
  • Reply 34 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by k2director View Post


    My god, there's so much knee-jerk populism and brain-dead anti-business rhetoric here.



    As industries mature, as the cel phone industry is doing, they ALWAYS consolidate. Car companies, computer companies, airlines, etc. etc. etc. You can sit on your dumbass high-horse all day long and cite "what's best for the consumer" but it doesn't change the market conditions that real-world companies and their management have to cope with. They can't get by on smug populist rhetoric, they actually have to make their businesses work.



    And T-Mobile hasn't been working for a long time. Neither has Sprint, for that matter. All the government and its mindless supporters have done is interfere with a natural elimination of weaker competitors, which is necessary to maintain a healthy industry where companies are in a position to make money and thrive. Our ever-meddling government not only prevented that essential act from happening in this particular case, but it's also discouraged many similarly necessary acts from occurring in the future, because companies will fear wasting untold time and money pursuing acquisitions that a fickle government can nix at any time.



    Having too many competitors, like having too many rabbits or deer on an island, leads to them all being sick and malnourished. It's not good for the consumer. It's especially not good for shareholders like T-Mobile. All it's good for are a bunch of government bureaucrats who need to justify their salaries and lord over people they have no business interfering with.



    Please put in a little effort and google the term "rent seeking behavior" so maybe you can understand the proposed merger from the point of view of society's greater good instead of a corporation's greater profits or a CEO's greater bonus.
  • Reply 35 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Tsun Zu View Post


    It's Not about T-Mobile USA only. T-Mobile USA is owned by the Deutsche Telecom (DT) of Germany who are in serious debt trouble. In current financial crisis especially in Europe, they are desperate to reduce their debt and that needs a huge amount of cash.



    Selling the US operation can give it the needed cash, holding onto the operation and the 332 million yearly profit will not help much. DT is looking to cut debt by $16.9 billion. At $332 million a year, it would take 50 years to achieve that goal. So, the solution is to sell it at $ 39 billion.



    Look in this article <http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-19/at-t-pulls-39-billion-t-mobile-bid-after-regulator-opposition.html>. Bloomberg is a much more reliable source than Engadget for financial matters.



    So what? Who cares if DT is in debt over their heads? So the US consumer is supposed to take it in the you-know-where so DT's executives don't need to resign in disgrace?



    T-Mobile is worth $39 Billion to AT&T because it can factor in the increased profits (from an enhanced ability to jack up prices) that they will get as a result of the vastly increased market power that the merger will give them. I am not willing to be one of millions of patsies who will fill AT&T's coffers for them.



    If DT really needs the cash, even after their $4B payday, then they can sell T-Mobile to someone other than AT&T or Verizon, and sure they won't be able to demand $39 Billion, but hey, it's nobody's job in the US government to ensure that DT gets as much money as they can get for T-Mobile.



    I'm so sick and tired of all these people apologizing for these rapacious monopolists.
  • Reply 36 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by charlituna View Post


    why do I think that Apple won't be making that unique version for T-Mobile and they will only gain the iPhone when it goes LTE and then only if it can fall back on Edge.



    How much would it really cost Apple to develop a version compatible with T-Mobile's network? Now that the uncertainty of whether T-Mobile will switch over to AT&T's network is gone, I bet a T-Mobile version of the iPhone is on its way.
  • Reply 37 of 44
    Maybe now AT&T will take the money they were going to use for this merger and work on improving their network themselves, rather than 'buying' into an improved network. Their 2G signal in some parts of my area isn't strong enough to pick up inside some restaurants and grocery stores.
  • Reply 38 of 44
    neo42neo42 Posts: 287member
    Not sure how anyone other than AT&T corporate could be upset about this decision. T-Mobile is the only major carrier that still offers competitive pricing for mobile voice and data. If only Apple could be convinced to produce an iPhone that works on their 3/4G data band. Even though I despise contracts (using an iPhone 4S on prepaid AT&T MVNO currently), I would immediately jump on a T-Mobile iPhone contract. This is the consumer begging you Apple, PLEASE MAKE A DEAL WITH T-MOBILE. I don't care if the phone is $100 more w/ contract. Just make it happen.
  • Reply 39 of 44
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TBell View Post


    The problem with your assessment is it isn't based on fact. T-Mobile earnings reports clearly state it is highly profitable. Carriers much smaller than T-Mobile are profitable. Further, recent statements by DT state the US market is the most promising. T-Mobile's biggest problem is the lack of the iPhone, which Apple likely wasn't going to provide while the uncertainty of the AT&T deal hung in the air. Considering DT is a big Apple partner in Europe, the iPhone will likely come to T-Mobile now.



    Moreover, if your house was worth $200, 000 and I approached you and offered you $600, 000 for it, you probably would agree to sell because I was over paying you. Similarly, DT was willing to sell T-Mobile because AT&T was over paying it. DT was going to take a significant stake in AT&T; and the executives were going to garner big pay days. AT&T stock pays a dividend. So, DT would make money without doing anything.





    The airwaves, however, are owned by the public. So, the deal had to benefit the public. It clearly did not.



    This. +1 Your other comments are spot on here too.



    I despise government intervention, but I fail to see how a US wireless duopoly and a GSM monopoly is in any way good for the consumer or was going to create 'tens of thousands of jobs' as they promised. Verizon has looked at buying Sprint a few times in the last 10 years but never pulled the trigger either, probably knowing it would only end in something like this.
  • Reply 40 of 44
    Everything I have read pretty much stated that DT was the company that still wants to unload T-Mobile, and get out of the US cellular business, so they could concentrate on their European network. I have a feeling that since they couldn't sell it all at once, they will start selling it piece by piece. They wanted to pay down their debt by 31%, buy back 5 billion eur of their stock, and start receiving the dividends from the 8% stake they would have had in AT&T as part of that deal (figures are from DT press release announcing the merger). I don't think T-Mobile will be around in 2 years at all. I guess time will tell.
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