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Alltel to exchange wireless properties to meet divestiture requirements; Alltel gains Idaho wireless properties in transaction with U.S. CellularLITTLE ROCK, Ark. --(Business Wire)-- Sept. 12, 2005 -- Alltel (NYSE:AT) today announced an agreement to exchange 850 MHz wireless properties with U.S. Cellular of Chicago in an agreement that meets a substantial portion of the divestiture requirements related to Alltel's merger with Western Wireless Corp. Alltel will acquire two Rural Service Area (RSA) markets in Idaho and receive $50 million in cash in exchange for 15 rural markets in Kansas and Nebraska owned by Western Wireless that the U.S. Department of Justice ordered Alltel to sell in connection with the Western Wireless merger. Alltel will retain ownership of the Lincoln, Neb., market that was owned by Western Wireless. The company also will retain ownership of all the properties in Kansas and Nebraska that it operated prior to the merger with Western Wireless. The two markets Alltel is acquiring include 22 counties in southern and eastern Idaho, areas that are adjacent to the company's operations in the state. The Department of Justice order also requires Alltel to divest a rural market in southwest Arkansas and the Cellular One brand. The company expects to be in compliance with the order of disposal within the four-month allotted time frame. The transaction with U.S. Cellular is subject to federal regulatory approval. It is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2005. The agreement includes licenses, network assets, customers and employees. Alltel is a customer-focused communications company with more than 15 million customers in 36 states and nearly $10 billion in annual revenues. Alltel claims the protection of the safe-harbor for forward-looking statements contained in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to uncertainties that could cause actual future events and results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on estimates, projections, beliefs, and assumptions and are not guarantees of future events and results. Actual future events and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements as a result of a number of important factors. Representative examples of these factors include (without limitation) adverse changes in economic conditions in the markets served by Alltel; the risks associated with the extent, timing, and overall effects of competition in the communications business; material changes in the communications industry generally that could adversely affect vendor relationships with equipment and network suppliers and customer relationships with wholesale customers; changes in communications technology; the risks associated with pending acquisitions and dispositions, including the pending acquisition of the Idaho markets and the pending dispositions of Western Wireless' Kansas and Nebraska markets and international assets; the risks associated with the integration of acquired businesses, including the integration of Western Wireless; the uncertainties related to any discussions or negotiations regarding the sale of any of the international assets; adverse changes in the terms and conditions of the wireless roaming agreements of Alltel; the uncertainties related to Alltel's strategic investments; the effects of litigation; and the effects of federal and state legislation, rules, and regulations governing the communications industry. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. Alltel, NYSE: AT www.alltel.com |
