T-Mobile picks up $3.3bn of US spectrum
T-MOBILE said yesterday it would buy spectrum licences from Verizon Wireless to improve its high-speed US wireless services, in a deal worth $3.3bn (£2.01bn).
T-Mobile, owned by Deutsche Telekom, said the deal includes $2.36bn in cash and a transfer of spectrum worth $950m.
It had been raising money to buy more airwaves as it beefs up its network to catch up with rival services.
It was reported in November that T-Mobile was seeking to buy the spectrum from Verizon Wireless, owned by Verizon Communications and Vodafone.
T-Mobile, the fourth largest US mobile provider, said the licences cover more than 150m people in areas such as New York, Atlanta and Los Angeles. It expects to roll out services using the spectrum as early as the fourth quarter of 2014.
It said that the transaction, which requires regulatory approval, is expected to close around the middle of 2014.
T-Mobile had raised $1.8bn through a sale of its common stock in November and sold about $2bn in bonds to fund spectrum purchases.