The CFO of America’s number four mobile operator T-Mobile US has said it is possible for the company to merge with the market’s third player, Sprint Corporation. Speaking at a Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference, Braxton Carter made the case…
The CFO of America’s number four mobile operator T-Mobile US has said it is possible for the company to merge with the market’s third player, Sprint Corporation.
Speaking at a Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia conference, Braxton Carter made the case for a consolidated third player by arguing that Verizon Wireless and AT&T enjoyed a duopoly.
“We think it’s not a question of if, but it’s a question of when that there’s further consolidation in our industry,” Carter said in a webcast.
“Our thesis is that you actually create a more competitive environment by having a third more nationally-scaled carrier, to provide more competition to that duopoly structure.”
However, Carter was keen to emphasise that T-Mobile is now well positioned on its own following its merger with prepaid operator MetroPCS earlier this year – and investors seem to agree.
When that deal closed, on 1 May, the combined company’s stock was at US$16.25. Since then its share price has risen more than 60%, opening today at US$26.16.
Carter’s comments on the regulatory environment contrast with those of AT&T’s CEO Randall Stephenson.
Speaking at the same conference on Tuesday he said he did not expect there to be large scale mergers in the US and pointed to the US Airways/American Airlines merger, which is currently being held up by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
He expects the antitrust regulator to block that deal and, as a result, dispel any ideas that it could allow the wireless market to shrink from four players to three.
