The two biggest mobile operators in the U.S. are fiercely competitive and closely matched in size. So will AT&T's proposed multibillion-dollar acquisition of Leap Wireless change the balance? …read more
Tag Archives: Leap Wireless
AT&T to buy carrier Leap Wireless
AT&T announced plans Friday to buy mobile carrier Leap Wireless in a deal worth at least $4 billion, giving the telecom giant needed spectrum along with the Cricket prepaid phone franchise. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Phys.org
AT&T to acquire prepaid mobile carrier Leap Wireless
AT&T plans to acquire Leap Wireless, operator of the Cricket prepaid mobile service, in what would be the latest consolidation of the U.S. mobile industry.
AT&T announced late Friday it has agreed to acquire Leap for US$15 per share, nearly double the company’s closing stock price Friday. Multiplied by Leap’s 79 million shares, that comes out to approximately US$1.185 billion. AT&T would also assume Leap’s $2.8 billion of net debt. The deal needs to be approved by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission and Department of Justice, among other conditions, and AT&T expects it to close in six to nine months.
Leap was widely expected to be the next domino to fall after SoftBank bought No. 3 carrier Sprint for $21.6 billion, a deal that also allowed Sprint to absorb Clearwire. Earlier this year, No. 4 T-Mobile US acquired MetroPCS, another regional budget carrier.
Leap has about 5 million subscribers, a relatively small addition to AT&T’s stated 107.3 million wireless customers. But the acquisition will also give AT&T more spectrum licenses, a key asset to have as operators look toward growing demand for mobile capacity over the coming years. Leap holds licenses covering 137 million U.S. residents, and these are largely complementary to AT&T’s own spectrum, the companies said. AT&T said Leap has unutilized spectrum covering 41 million people, which AT&T will immediately use to further its LTE deployment.
To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
Source: FULL ARTICLE at PCWorld
No, T-Mobile Has Not Killed iPhone Subsidies
By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
T-Mobile’s been stirring the pot in recent months, launching an ambitious “Un-carrier” initiative and touting its new unsubsidized strategy. Contrary to popular belief, T-Mobile hasn’t been able to quit subsidies quite yet (they are rather addictive, after all).
I can’t quit you
The magenta carrier has axed service contracts, but is still offering to foot part of the device bill, even if it’s not being entirely forthright about it. I noted the discrepancy between Apple‘s retail pricing and T-Mobile’s installment plan totals when the device was announced last month, but now investors have more evidence regarding the arrangement.
For starters, Apple now sells T-Mobile iPhones through its own online store, and they’re unlocked and contract-free. These models are sold at full retail pricing of $649 to $849. Unlocked iPhone buyers can choose to have a T-Mobile SIM pre-installed or get one SIM-free. It makes no difference to Apple.
Source: Apple Online Store.
If you mosey on over to T-Mobile’s online storefront and compare full device cost, there’s exactly a $69 difference between its prices and Apple’s prices.
|
Buy From |
16 GB Model |
32 GB Model |
64 GB Model |
Unlocked? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
T-Mobile |
$580 |
$680 |
$780 |
No |
|
Apple |
$649 |
$749 |
$849 |
Yes |
|
Difference |
$69 |
$69 |
$69 |
— |
Sources: Apple and T-Mobile. iPhone 5 pricing shown.
That missing money has to be coming from somewhere. There are exactly two candidates for who’s covering the difference. Hint: It’s not Apple.
Not something for nothing
It’s not as if T-Mobile is giving away the $69 for nothing. The vast majority of consumers will opt for the installment plan, and those devices will be locked to T-Mobile’s network while you’re still on the hook for 24 monthly payments. The carrier will unlock the device for you once it’s paid off and you can call it your own. For $69, T-Mobile still has a good shot of getting two years of loyalty, just not through a service contract.
In theory, a customer could go purchase an iPhone from T-Mobile at full price for $580 and have them unlock it immediately and then go use the savings to buy an Apple Wireless Keyboard, but T-Mobile is playing the odds and hoping very few people care enough to do this.
BTIG analyst Walter Piecyk also noticed this difference, and believes it’s a “promotional subsidy within T-Mobile’s new strategy.” Furthermore, Piecyk believes the promotion will expire eventually and T-Mobile iPhones will go back up to full retail pricing, even if they’re available on installment plans.
Been there, done that
T-Mobile actually isn’t the only carrier to offer these types of promotions. Other prepaid carriers do the same.
Leap Wireless‘ Cricket brand offers a $150 rebate, bringing the entry-level iPhone 5 down to $500. Cricket is also a prepaid carrier with no contracts, and Leap absolutely pays subsidies. On the most recent conference all, CFO
From: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2013/04/16/no-t-mobile-has-not-killed-iphone-subsidies/
Leap Wireless Tenders for Its Convertible Notes
By Eric Volkman, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Leap Wireless has launched an offer for its convertible notes maturing next year. The company is offering $1,005 in cash for each $1,000 in principal value of the notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The offer is subject to certain conditions, including one that specifies company unit Cricket Communications “shall have consummated the borrowing of term loans under its delayed-draw incremental term loan facility.”
This offer expires at midnight, Eastern time, on April 22.
All told, the issue has an aggregate principal amount of $250 million. The notes carry an interest rate of 4.50%. Leap’s tender offer covers the entire issue.
Deutsche Bank‘s eponymous Securities unit is the dealer manager in the tender.
The article Leap Wireless Tenders for Its Convertible Notes originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Eric Volkman and The Motley Fool have no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don’t all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");
function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})
var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function () {
var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
Is Leap Wireless Destined for Greatness?
By Alex Planes, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Investors love stocks that consistently beat the Street without getting ahead of their fundamentals and risking a meltdown. The best stocks offer sustainable market-beating gains, with robust and improving financial metrics that support strong price growth. Does Leap Wireless fit the bill? Let’s take a look at what its recent results tell us about its potential for future gains.
What we’re looking for
The graphs you’re about to see tell Leap’s story, and we’ll be grading the quality of that story in several ways:
- Growth: Are profits, margins, and free cash flow all increasing?
- Valuation: Is share price growing in line with earnings per share?
- Opportunities: Is return on equity increasing while debt to equity declines?
- Dividends: Are dividends consistently growing in a sustainable way?
What the numbers tell you
Now, let’s take a look at Leap’s key statistics:
LEAP Total Return Price data by YCharts.
|
Criteria |
3-Year* Change |
Grade |
|---|---|---|
|
Revenue growth > 30% |
26.6% |
Fail |
|
Improving profit margin |
(10.8%) |
Fail |
|
Free cash flow growth > Net income growth |
38% vs. 21% |
Pass |
|
Improving EPS |
25.8% |
Pass |
|
Stock growth (+ 15%) < EPS growth |
(68%) vs. 25.8% |
Pass |
Source: YCharts. *Period begins at end of Q4 2009.
LEAP Return on Equity data by YCharts.
|
Criteria |
3-Year* Change |
Grade |
|---|---|---|
|
Improving return on equity |
(156.7%) |
Fail |
|
Declining debt to equity |
369.8% |
Fail |
Source: YCharts. *Period begins at end of Q4 2009.
How we got here and where we’re going
It hasn’t been a particularly good three years for Leap, which has all but leapt (pardon the pun) off a cliff with its share price. Free cash flow and net income have both been moving in the right direction, but only from a deep hole to a slightly shallower hole. What will it take to get this second-string telecom into the market‘s starting lineup?
My fellow Fool Sean Williams just doesn’t see that happening. A de facto duopoly in AT&T and Verizon crowds out smaller competition, especially when you consider that both Sprint and T-Mobile have recently enhanced themselves — the former with a sale to SoftBank and the latter with a purchase of MetroPCS.
Leap picked up Apple‘s iPhone for its prepaid plans, and a $900 million minimum purchase commitment at first seemed easily reachable, as the company figured only about 10% of its subscribers will need to pick up the iPhone to make this deal work. That might be less likely that originally thought, as the company’s only on track to move half as many iPhones as it expected through the first half of 2013. Between this shortfall and a smallish subsidy, Leap is in a difficult position should it be unable to move Apple’s phones at a faster pace.
One backup option is Samsung’s Bada operating system, which seems poised to become the would-be Symbian of the smartphone era — a low-cost option for commodity phones. Since prepaid plans tend to attract value-seekers, this might be enough …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
Weekly leveraged finance volume tops $21B as loan market dominates
Syndicated loans continue to drive the leveraged finance market, with high yield bond activity tepid for another week (while yields in that market rest near historical lows). That loans comprise most of the action during the week is not surprising considering that loan mutual funds saw yet another $1.15 billion of investor cash inflows. That’s the second-highest weekly total ever, after the $1.28 billion inflow a few weeks ago. The biggest deal of the week: a $1.4 billion loan for Leap Wireless. The credit will refinance notes. Year-to-date leveraged finance volume now stands at $217 billion. Leveraged finance volume = leveraged loan + high yield bond issuance. Because of the fluid nature of loan syndications, numbers from previous weeks will be updated from week to week. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Leap Wireless Secures $1.4 Million Delayed-Draw Loan
By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Subject to its wholly owned subsidiary Cricket Communications redeeming all of its 7.75% senior secured notes due in 2016 and certain other conditions, Leap Wireless entered into an amendment to its existing senior secured credit agreement on March 8 to provide for a new “delayed-draw incremental term loan facility” of up to $1.425 million.
Terms allow for borrowings — in whole or in part — in a single drawing by Cricket at any time on or prior to May 7 and will mature in March 2020 bearing interest rates at LIBOR plus 3.50% or at the bank base rate plus 2.50%, as selected by Cricket. The subsidiary also agreed to pay lenders a “ticking fee” equal to 0.50% per year on the undrawn amount of the loan facility per day beginning on March 15.
The loan will be repaid in 26 quarterly installments equal to 0.25% times the initial principal amount borrowed, starting Sept. 30 until repayment of the balance at maturity.
Proceeds from the loan must be used to redeem, discharge, or purchase all of Leap’s secured notes and up to $250 million of its 4.50% convertible senior notes due 2014. Any proceeds remaining may be used for general corporate purposes.
The article Leap Wireless Secures $1.4 Million Delayed-Draw Loan originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Rich Duprey has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");
function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})
var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
(function () {
var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
