The president of US cableco Cox Communications has denied rumours that his company is interested in making a joint bid with French operator Iliad to acquire T-Mobile US. Pat Esser also threw cold water on speculation that it could merge with a smaller…
The president of US cableco Cox Communications has denied rumours that his company is interested in making a joint bid with French operator Iliad to acquire T-Mobile US.
Pat Esser also threw cold water on speculation that it could merge with a smaller rival such as Charter Communications or Cablevision Systems Corp, saying that the family-owned company would prefer to remain private for now.
The comments, given to Reuters, follow a report on 5 August that said Iliad – which saw its US$15bn offer for T-Mobile turned down – approached Cox to team up for a joint bid for the US’ number four mobile operator.
Iliad also held talks with Dish Networks and Charter Communications, pension funds such as Ontario Teachers Pension Plan and sovereign wealth funds including Singapore’s GIC, the report said.
Esser commented yesterday that Cox was not in discussions to buy T-Mobile and did not feel the cableco had to partner with a mobile operator because wireless broadband was expanding more through Wi-Fi than cellular services.
Iliad is reported to be now trying to raise money from Microsoft and Google to fund an improved bid for T-Mobile, the New York Post claimed yesterday citing a well-placed source.
T-Mobile’s CFO Braxton Carter labelled Iliad’s initial US$15bn bid as “very inadequate”, saying it undervalued the operator’s future growth prospects.
