SAN ANTONIO, Texas-SBC Communications Inc. said it agreed to acquire Radiofone Inc., which serves more than 200,000 wireless customers in Louisiana and Michigan.
Once the transaction is completed, SBC said it will begin deploying digital wireless services in Radiofone service areas.
Radiofone offers wireless service under its own name in the New Orleans area, and as Cellular One in the Baton Rouge market and Michigan property.
The transaction also brings SBC approximately 300,000 paging customers in 11 states, according to the company.
Overall, Radiofone holds wireless licenses in areas covering approximately 2.4 million people.
Larry Garvey, chairman of Radiofone, said little is likely to change as a result of the acquisition. The Radiofone brand name, as well as its 1,000 employees, will remain in place.
Garvey and his brother, J. Donald Garvey, founded the company in 1958. L. Garvey said they decided to sell the company to better compete with bigger players such as AT&T Corp. and BellSouth Corp.
“This puts us more in their league,” L. Garvey commented.
The deal is expected to be completed in the second quarter of next year.
