French telecom Iliad making a surprise $15B bid for control of T-Mobile US<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="content:encoded"><p><a href='
http://www.imore.com/french-telecom-iliad-making-surprise-bid-t-mobile-us' title="French telecom Iliad making a surprise $15B bid for control of T-Mobile US"><img src='
http://www.imore.com/sites/androidcentral.com/files/styles/large/public/article_images/2014/07/free_mobile_sim_cards_press.jpg?itok=yKBZ9_v-' />[/url]</p> <p><strong>Update:</strong> Iliad has confirmed with a press release that it is indeed making the bid for T-Mobile, and has submitted the offer to T-Mo's Board of Directors. Iliad's owners and Board of Directors have unanimously approved the deal, which would see Iliad paying $15 billion in cash for 56.6 percent of T-Mobile, valuing it at $36.20 per share, a 42 percent premium over its current stock price.</p> <p>In a bid that's come way out of left field, French telecommunications firm Iliad SA is also offering to buy a controlling stake in
T-Mobile US. T-Mobile, itself a subsidiary of T-Mobile Germany, has been engaged in long-running negotiations with US rival
Sprint. The $15 billion bid from Iliad comes as a surprise, not just for their previously unexpressed interest, but that Iliad is a smaller company that T-Mobile in both terms of subscribers and value.</p> <!--break--> <p>Iliad's carrier subsidiary Free Mobile has a little over 7 million subscribers, while
T-Mobile just crossed 50 million. Iliad as a company is valued at $16 billion (€12 billion), while T-Mobile US has a market capitalization of $24.8 billion. Iliad has apparently offered T-Mobile "about $33 a share" for the company... less than a 6% premium on the trading price of TMUS before the revelation of the proposal. Regardless of how much Iliad offers for a takeover of T-Mobile, but they'd be looking at taking on an enormous debt load.</p> <p>Iliad's Free Mobile has only been around since 2012, and has captured more than 12% of the French cellular subscriber market. They've been incredibly aggressive with their pricing, offering plans for a little as €2 ($2.68) a month.</p> <p>But there's a bit of a kindred spirit between T-Mobile US and Free Mobile. Both have pushed to simplify the mobile phone process in eliminating (or avoiding from the start) subsidies on phones and dumping formal contract plans.</p> <p>Source:
The Wall Street Journal,
Bloomberg,
Iliad</p> </div></div></div><div id="comment-wrapper-nid-26090"></div><img width='1' height='1' src='
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French telecom Iliad making a surprise $15B bid for control of T-Mobile US
