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The most interesting latest news on the topic: Mergers & Acquisitions |
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Deutsche Telekom is considering merging T-Mobile with MetroPCS to stay competitive in the wireless business, but T-Mobile will need more than spectrum to keep up with Verizon and AT&T.
A merger with MetroPCS would improve T-Mobile's spectrum situation, and give it a slight bump in customers, as well as offer the company more tools to compete in the U.S. wireless market. The added spectrum would give T-Mobile the needed bandwidth to help build out its HSPA-plus and LTE network, offering faster service necessary to lure data-hungry subscribers. But while a merger would improve T-Mobile, MetroPCS wouldn't be enough to put the company on the same level as AT&T or Verizon. Rather, a combined company would have the most direct effect on Sprint. Sprint, the country's third-place carrier, has kept T-Mobile at bay, and even dipped into MetroPCS's business, with its aggressive push in the low-cost market. Verizon and AT&T, by contrast, target the higher end. So a MetroPCS and T-Mobile merger consolidates their cheaper subscribers and adds pressure on Sprint to strengthen their services enough to keep current customers from jumping ship. Despite MetroPCS's improvements, T-Mobile will need to make strides into Verizon and AT&T's business, if it wants to survive. Should a merger help T-Mobile speed up its LTE buildout, which in turn would allow it to land the next-generation iPhone, then analysts will look back on the move as a game changer for the company. The partnership helps T-Mobile come closer to solving some of its problems, but the carrier will still lack the infrastructure, smartphone catalog and overall reach necessary to compete with the top players in the U.S. Without these major developments, slight improvements to T-Mobile would only serve to improve the carrier's credibility, rather than its ability to challenge Verizon and AT&T and impact the wireless market. If Deutsche Telekom is really looking to get T-Mobile headed in the right direction, it has to consider combining it with MetroPCS as the first step, not the finish line. The German telecom is reportedly in talks with MetroPCS, as well as several other undisclosed companies about similar possibilities. |
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Deutsche Telekom is in talks to merge T-Mobile with MetroPCS, but T-Mobile will need more than spectrum to keep up with Verizon and AT&T.
A merger with MetroPCS would improve T-Mobile's spectrum situation, and give it a slight bump in customers, as well as offer the company more tools to compete in the U.S. wireless market. The added spectrum would give T-Mobile the needed bandwidth to help build out its HSPA-plus and LTE network, offering faster service necessary to lure data-hungry subscribers. But while a merger would improve T-Mobile, MetroPCS wouldn't be enough to put the company on the same level as AT&T or Verizon. Rather, a combined company would have the most direct effect on Sprint. Sprint, the country's third-place carrier, has kept T-Mobile at bay, and even dipped into MetroPCS's business, with its aggressive push in the low-cost market. Verizon and AT&T, by contrast, target the higher end. So a MetroPCS and T-Mobile merger consolidates their cheaper subscribers and adds pressure on Sprint to strengthen their services enough to keep current customers from jumping ship. Despite MetroPCS's improvements, T-Mobile will need to make strides into Verizon and AT&T's business, if it wants to survive. Should a merger help T-Mobile speed up its LTE buildout, which in turn would allow it to land the next-generation iPhone, then analysts will look back on the move as a game changer for the company. The partnership helps T-Mobile come closer to solving some of its problems, but the carrier will still lack the infrastructure, smartphone catalog and overall reach necessary to compete with the top players in the U.S. Without these major developments, slight improvements to T-Mobile would only serve to improve the carrier's credibility, rather than its ability to challenge Verizon and AT&T and impact the wireless market. If Deutsche Telekom is really looking to get T-Mobile headed in the right direction, it has to consider combining it with MetroPCS as the first step, not the finish line. The German telecom is reportedly in talks with MetroPCS, as well as several other undisclosed companies about similar possibilities. |
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Facebook is buying photo-sharing service Instagram for $1 billion in cash and Facebook shares, a powerful combination that will boost momentum for both services. |
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 Tags: Apple, Business, Companies, Daily Roundup, Facebook, Mergers & Acquisitions, Microsoft, Social Media, Strategies & Solutions, Steve Wozniak, Mike Daisey, Kim Dotcom
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20 March 2012 |
The creator of Verizon's "Can You Hear Me Now" campaign is hoping to make some noise for Windows Phone, after Microsoft hired him to help its slow-growth division. In Apple news, European courts are taking a look at how Apple markets its product warranties, and Steve Wozniak was moved to tears over Mike Dailey's stage show, even though it's been discredited as a news source. Bankers are about to make some bucks from Facebook's initial public offering -- but not as much as they normally would. Not to be outdone, disgraced Megaupload leader Kim Dotcom may get his assets back after all.
"Can You Hear Me Now" Creator to head Windows Phone MarketingMicrosoft named Thom Gruhler, global managing partner of telecom and technology for McCann Worldgroup, to run its Windows Phone marketing division. Gruhler, 42, is best known for the Verizon "Can you hear me now?" campaign. He will be the third marketing vice-president to try to sell the revamped Windows Phone software. The product has gotten positive reviews but only accounts for a two percent share of the market.
Groups Seek Apple Warranty CrackdownConsumer groups in 11 European countries are asking national regulators to stop how Apple markets its warranties. Apple usually markets its products as having one-year warranties, unless the buyer takes out an AppleCare plan. Under EU regulations, manufacturers must cover a product for at least two years. Italian courts have already fined Apple $1.2 million for the warranty, and the consumer groups' letters could bring even more fines. Apple plans to appeal the Italian fine, and posted a link on its Italian online Apple Store acknowledging the legal dispute.
Facebook IPO Underwriters Geting 1.1 PercentFinancial instutions underwriting Facebook's initial public offering will receive a 1.1 percent fee, much smaller than the typical underwriting fee made for such work. Sources said the underwriters are swallowing the rest of the fee, which normally would range between 3-7 percent, because of the prestige of being associated with Silicon Valley's largest-ever IPO. Further, the underwriters will serve as Facebook's bankers in the future. The underwriters include Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Allen & Co. and an additional 25 banks.
Woz Applauds Mike Daisey's Foxcomm PlayApple co-founder Steve Wozniak says that he loved Mike Daisey's show about conditions at the Apple's supply plants, and even spoke well of Daisey to Steve Jobs before his death. "I didn't get the sense that Mike was anti-Apple," Wozniak said. "I think he loves Apple's products and I told this to Steve Jobs. I think Mike was looking at Apple to become one of the positive forces for having influence on improving things." Daisey stars in a one-man play called "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs." His claims of seeing signs of abuse at the Chinese plants were used as a factual report on National Public Radio, and later retracted. "Woz" didn't talk about Daisey's journalism credentials, but said he was moved "nearly to tears" after seeing it in February 2011.
Kim Dotcom May Get His Property BackMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom, recently arrested and charged with racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering, may be able to reclaim his seized assets, which were taken through a botched court order. New Zealand police raided Dotcom's home in January, seizing his cash, cars and mansion. New Zealand police admitted to making a "procedural error" when seeking the warrants for Dotcom's house. A New Zealand newspaper said there is no guarantee Dotcom's assets will be returned, however, because his lawyers must prove the police lacked "good faith" when they made their procedural error. |
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Tags: Apple, Business, Companies, Daily Roundup, Facebook, Mergers & Acquisitions, Microsoft, Social Media, Strategies & Solutions, Steve Wozniak, Mike Daisey, Kim Dotcom
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20 March 2012 |
The creator of Verizon's "Can You Hear Me Now" campaign is hoping to make some noise for Windows Phone, after Microsoft hired him to help its slow-growth division. In Apple news, European courts are taking a look at how Apple markets its product warranties, and Steve Wozniak was moved to tears over Mike Dailey's stage show, even though it's been discredited as a news source. Bankers are about to make some bucks from Facebook's initial public offering -- but not as much as they normally would. Not to be outdone, disgraced Megaupload leader Kim Dotcom may get his assets back after all.
"Can You Hear Me Now" Creator to head Windows Phone MarketingMicrosoft named Thom Gruhler, global managing partner of telecom and technology for McCann Worldgroup, to run its Windows Phone marketing division. Gruhler, 42, is best known for the Verizon "Can you hear me now?" campaign. He will be the third marketing vice-president to try to sell the revamped Windows Phone software. The product has gotten positive reviews but only accounts for a two percent share of the market.
Groups Seek Apple Warranty CrackdownConsumer groups in 11 European countries are asking national regulators to stop how Apple markets its warranties. Apple usually markets its products as having one-year warranties, unless the buyer takes out an AppleCare plan. Under EU regulations, manufacturers must cover a product for at least two years. Italian courts have already fined Apple $1.2 million for the warranty, and the consumer groups' letters could bring even more fines. Apple plans to appeal the Italian fine, and posted a link on its Italian online Apple Store acknowledging the legal dispute.
Facebook IPO Underwriters Geting 1.1 PercentFinancial instutions underwriting Facebook's initial public offering will receive a 1.1 percent fee, much smaller than the typical underwriting fee made for such work. Sources said the underwriters are swallowing the rest of the fee, which normally would range between 3-7 percent, because of the prestige of being associated with Silicon Valley's largest-ever IPO. Further, the underwriters will serve as Facebook's bankers in the future. The underwriters include Morgan Stanley, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Barclays, Allen & Co. and an additional 25 banks.
Woz Applauds Mike Daisey's Foxcomm PlayApple co-founder Steve Wozniak says that he loved Mike Daisey's show about conditions at the Apple's supply plants, and even spoke well of Daisey to Steve Jobs before his death. "I didn't get the sense that Mike was anti-Apple," Wozniak said. "I think he loves Apple's products and I told this to Steve Jobs. I think Mike was looking at Apple to become one of the positive forces for having influence on improving things." Daisey stars in a one-man play called "The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs." His claims of seeing signs of abuse at the Chinese plants were used as a factual report on National Public Radio, and later retracted. "Woz" didn't talk about Daisey's journalism credentials, but said he was moved "nearly to tears" after seeing it in February 2011.
Kim Dotcom May Get His Property BackMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom, recently arrested and charged with racketeering, copyright infringement and money laundering, may be able to reclaim his seized assets, which were taken through a botched court order. New Zealand police raided Dotcom's home in January, seizing his cash, cars and mansion. New Zealand police admitted to making a "procedural error" when seeking the warrants for Dotcom's house. A New Zealand newspaper said there is no guarantee Dotcom's assets will be returned, however, because his lawyers must prove the police lacked "good faith" when they made their procedural error. |
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Apple plans to acquire Chomp, an app search and discovery company, to revamp its App Store and stand out in a crowded marketplace. Chomp, which makes a tool designed to help users find apps, provides search results based on an app's function, rather than its name. The Cupertino, Calif.-based company's move comes on the heels of an announcement to overhaul its iTunes and App stores. Apple is aiming to make it easier for users to find apps among the more than 550,000 its App Store offers, and the Chomp acquisition will help it reach that goal. Best-selling offerings are often most visible in the App Store, while newer or less popular apps get buried. It's difficult and time-consuming for users to get at those deeper offerings, especially if they don't know the name of the app or exactly what they're looking for. With its Chomp acquisition, users will likely discover lesser-known apps that appeal to their unique tastes and usage patterns. As a result, Apple will enable App Store users to find what they need more quickly and easily, competing more successfully for users' eyes and downloads in an increasingly crowded app market. The tools are also good news for Apple's developers, because they will help new apps break in and get more visibility. Apple's acquisition comes as apps begin to help companies draw in advertising revenue. For example, Google's new privacy policy, which allows it to cross-market between all its sites and services, will open new advertising routes based on users' Android app activity. Likewise, social network Facebook now targets ads to users' precise interests and tastes based on their mobile app activity, in the hopes of raising conversion rates. Apple's purchase of Chomp hints it plans to jump on this trend as well. The ability to harness app use as a revenue-boosting tool hinges on users' ability to ferret out apps that suit their individual preferences from a sea of competing offerings. Once it integrates Chomp's search and discovery tools with its App Store, Apple will ease that process and gain a new way to market to users, as well as widening the appeal of its apps. Apple also expects to release new products this year, including the iPad 3 and iPhone 5. These devices are expected to incorporate faster 4G LTE technology, making them especially suited for using apps to perform a host of data-hungry activities. Rolling out new search and discovery features in the App Store before its new round of products hit the market will help Apple bolster increased app use, as well as ensure Apple gets exclusive use of Chomp's innovative technology for an edge in the marketplace. |
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Google is set to replace Motorola Mobility CEO Sanjay Jha, promoting from within to foster unity between the two companies as the deal gets ready to close. Former Google senior vice president Dennis Woodside will replace Jha, Bloomberg reports, although Google has not officially announced the decision. By promoting from within its own ranks, Google sends a message it intends to bring about greater unity between the two companies after the acquisition is complete and keep its own alliances strong. Google and Motorola Mobility have disparate corporate cultures, which could set them up to clash once the acquisition is final. Differences in everything from dress code to management styles could keep the two companies from working together effectively. By moving Woodside in as CEO, Google will put someone who shares its corporate values and culture in charge of its newest acquisition, potentially ensuring a smoother transition. Jha's replacement may also put Google's group of Android hardware manufacturers and other partners at ease. By replacing Jha with one of its own, Google signifies that a major change in philosophy or leadership is unlikely as a result of its Motorola purchase. Woodside oversaw the Google-Motorola deal and led the transition as it progressed over the past several months. His understanding of the issues surrounding the two companies and their pending deal make him a logical choice to head up the Motorola Mobility division once it is officially part of Google. The decision is still speculation, however. Woodside emerged as a favorite from a short list that included Motorola senior vice president Christy Wyatt and chief strategy officer John Butcher, an anonymous source told Bloomberg. The U.S. Department of Justice and the European Union signed off on Google's purchase of Motorola earlier this month. Google still awaits approval from China before it can finalize the deal. |
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Ericsson's agreement to buy Wi-Fi technology firm BelAir Networks hints at plans to integrate Wi-Fi in mobile devices, as a way to conserve wireless spectrum and gain a competitive edge. The acquisition will allow the Swedish handset maker to add Wi-Fi to its cell phones, boosting its appeal to both wireless carriers and consumers. Demand for Wi-Fi integration in mobile devices will grow as data-hungry phones continue to proliferate and max out spectrum capacity. As a result, when Ericsson closes its deal with BelAir in the next few months, it will gain a distinct advantage in the mobile marketplace and join an overall industry shift toward Wi-Fi connection, especially as cellular spectrum grows harder to come by. Wireless carriers lean on Wi-Fi as a way to cut spectrum strain and keep data flowing smoothly to subscribers' devices, often by making use of home, corporate or institutional Wi-Fi networks. The Wi-Fi Alliance is developing Hotspot 2.0, which ties Wi-Fi user authentication to a mobile device's SIM card. This technology allows users to connect to Wi-Fi networks without entering credentials and seamlessly switch between Wi-Fi and cellular connections. BelAir's Wi-Fi structure uses an early version of this next-generation technology to stitch together a web of Wi-Fi hotspots into a makeshift "network," allowing devices to switch between hotspots without pausing for authentication. BelAir's network of access points will allow Ericsson to give wireless carriers a capacity boost without requiring them to relinquish network control or lose out on cellular revenue, and could help ease spectrum strain while carriers wait for other government-backed solutions or spectrum purchases to materialize. Ericsson's pending deal will also appeal to users, because it will allow them to connect to multiple Wi-Fi hotspots without service interruption. This could prove a real advantage for Ericsson users in areas where cellular coverage is spotty, when their network is slow or when they are traveling. Ericsson is not the first company to harness the power of Wi-Fi to get a marketing advantage. T-Mobile is expanding Wi-Fi calling to more of its Android phones to stay competitive in the wake of its failed merger with AT&T. Newcomers to the market are also jumping on the Wi-Fi trend. Recently launched Republic Wireless offers a $20-per-month unlimited plan based on connecting primarily with Wi-Fi and only falls back to a cellular network when a hotspot isn't available. The BelAir Networks deal also dovetails with Sony's expected buyout of Ericsson. By buying out the Ericsson half of the joint venture, Sony will gain the ability to integrate its digital media holdings with its upcoming lines of mobile devices. If future Ericsson mobile phones include built-in Wi-Fi access courtesy of BelAir's extensive network of Hotspots, it will ensure users have enough bandwidth to stream Sony's movies, music, shows and games without maxing out available wireless spectrum, an advantage for carriers and subscribers alike. |
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AT&T is taking another swing at spectrum acquisition, looking into picking up smaller networks as carriers seek ways to secure ever-depleting spectrum. The second-largest national carrier is looking to purchase smaller wireless networks like Leap Wireless and Dish Network, sources told The Wall Street Journal. The search follows the FCC's rejection of AT&T's merger with T-Mobile, a deal that would have strengthened the combined company's spectrum supply and propelled it to the top of the industry. Losing the T-Mobile deal cost AT&T more than potential market security. The $39 billion failed T-Mobile deal cost AT&T a $1 billion spectrum transfer and $3 billion cash in compensation to T-Mobile. As wireless companies scramble to secure valuable and finite spectrum resources, AT&T is aggressively pursuing purchases looking at lower-end carriers. These companies may give AT&T an edge as its competitors find other avenues to add spectrum to their networks, a required consideration as carriers market data-hungry devices like smartphones or tablet. In addition, AT&T's focus on smaller companies will likely make FCC approval easier, and swifter. The strategy already proved useful, since AT&T found success in purchasing $1.9 billion worth of spectrum through Qualcomm shortly after the T-Mobile deal fell through. There are no deals on the table yet, but the pressure is on AT&T to compete while there's still time. AT&T says its main goal is expanding its spectrum resources, underscoring the critical role of spectrum in the wireless competition. But it's not alone, as other carriers scoop up spectrum as well. Verizon is waiting on FCC approval for its latest $3.6 billion spectrum purchase, and while the AT&T merger with T-Mobile languished in the regulatory process, the rival network was busy acquiring smaller carriers. Fourth-place carrier Sprint will be scouring for spectrum resource alongside AT&T, since a potential deal with LightSquared is unlikely after the FCC rejected LightSquared's plans for expanding wireless spectrum. And, because the FCC seems unlikely to create mega-carriers with deals between main players, AT&T and Sprint are urgently seeking other avenues. AT&T's acquisition of Leap Wireless will give it spectrum but potentially changes how it conducts its operations. The sixth-largest U.S. carrier does not operate on user contracts, where AT&T finds a bulk of its business. Still, expanding coverage helps AT&T directly compete with Verizon while supporting 4G LTE devices. The AT&T and T-Mobile merger nearly secured the company's future in the mobile industry by adding billions of dollars worth of network coverage. But with its failure, AT&T is looking for ways to secure similar coverage by taking on smaller pieces of spectrum, at a pressurized moment when others like Verizon and Sprint are striving towards similar long-term goals. |
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Google's Motorola purchase received U.S. approval, but government regulators will watch closely to prevent patent abuses, curtailing Google's new-found power. The U.S. Department of Justice sanctioned Google's buyout of Motorola Mobility, after the European Commission's decision to do the same. Both regulatory bodies granted the acquisition with the same condition that they intend to watch Google and Motorola for patent abuse, and will not abide an onslaught of litigation as a result of the deal, which grants Google access to Motorola's hefty patent portfolio. The Department of Justice requires Google license its Motorola patents under fair and reasonable use standards, or FRAND. Google previously assured the European Commission it intends to honor FRAND, which helped the company gain needed approval. Regulators are making it clear with its warning that it will hold Google to its promise. Compared to its rivals, Google lacked a strong patent collection before this deal. Google assisted HTC, Samsung and another Android partners in proxy battles against Apple, since the search giant lacked enough ammunition to enter into direct conflict with its biggest adversary. The Motorola buyout, however, equips Google with valuable standards essential patents, or SEP, potent enough to directly fight Apple. Some analysts believed the Motorola patents would help Google launch an attack of its own against rivals, but the regulator provisions dampen the chances that Google engages in any overt or aggressive legal moves against its business opponent. "The division continues to monitor the use of SEPs in the wireless device industry, particularly in the smartphone and computer tablet markets," said the Department of Justice, outlining its conditions after approving the deal. "The division will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action to stop any anticompetitive use of SEP rights." The Department of Justice also said it will focus on enforcing antitrust laws to prevent larger companies from dominating the market, therefore hurting consumer choice. This regulatory vigilance comes at a time when the big companies are, indeed, looking to consolidate power and patents as market battles find their way into the courtrooms. Android phone makers and Apple often clash in court as the Android OS comes under attack for patent infringement, but the smartphone giants also join forces to squash the competition, using their hefty patent arsenals. Google's deal with Motorola gives the company extra ammunition in court cases like this, which damages chances for smaller companies and start-ups to overcome patent charges. Even under the watchful eyes of regulators, Google's new patent power has the potential to stifle competitors, especially if it uses them to come to the aid of its Android phone makers in court. Google purchased Motorola to stay competitive as the smartphone industry continues its intellectual property skirmishes. Google could use its newly acquired patents to its advantage, despite regulatory scrutiny. The company will have to tread lightly as it attempts to make the most of the patents it purchased, or government inquiries are likely to continue. |
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