After failed Time Warner Cable acquisition, is Comcast eyeing T-Mobile US?
In recent comments to assembled media, Comcast CFO Mike Cavanagh spoke briefly about the company’s ambitions — if any — regarding a move into wireless, which would align with the service provider trend of offering so-called quad-play services.
Quad-play refers to a service offering that bundles broadband Internet, television, telephone and wireless.
Asked if Comcast should move into wireless via acquisition or merger, Cavanagh said, “I know enough to be dangerous. In Europe, the flavor of the month is quad-play. It’s something we should pay attention to, and you can count on us putting some time into the issue. We have the wherewithal to go down that road.”
Major Comcast competitor DirecTV was recently acquired by AT&T. Comcast recently spent hundreds of millions of dollars on a bid to buy Time Warner Cable; that deal was ultimately derailed by federal regulators.
Recent reports suggest Comcast may be exploring a potential deal with T-Mobile US, which is owned by German communications service provider Deutsche Telekom. German publication Manager Magazin said Deutsche Telekom is in talks with several companies including Comcast. DT reportedly feels that the TV subscriber company could be one of the more attractive options.
Rumors of DT’s interest in unloading T-Mobile US date back as far as 2011 when AT&T was in talks to buy the carrier for $39 billion, but by the end of the year stepped away from the deal after criticism from lawmakers similar to that of the Comcast/Time Warner deal. Lawmakers said the deal was potentially dangerous for customers and the wireless industry.
Analyst firm Macquarie Research weighed in on the merger speculation, saying it makes sense for Deutsche Telekom: “Based on recent meetings our colleagues have held with DT [management], we believe that DT is more sold on the synergies created by fixed mobile convergence than by an improved midband spectrum position,” the firm said. “As such, we believe DT could retain a larger equity stake in Comcast or Newco than it would with Dish. As DT holds the cards with T-Mo, we think a deal with Comcast in the low- to mid-$40s, with a large stock component would be palatable for DT.”
