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Iliad in $15bn T-Mobile bid to shake up US cellphone market(City A.M. (UK) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) ILIAD, the disruptive French telecoms group founded by Le Monde co-owner Xavier Niel, last night made a $15bn (£11.9bn) takeover offer for US operator TMobile in a move that could shake up America's telecoms market. The deal would give Iliad control of 56.6 per cent of T-Mobile's shares, but Iliad said there was no certainty its offer would be accepted. Iliad has made waves in France by undercutting the market's three incumbent mobile operators, kicking off a price war, along with similar strategies in landline and broadband markets. Analysts believe its bid to enter the US market by buying T-Mobile, the fourth largest US mobile network that has been developing its own disruptive image led by boss John Legere, could disrupt the US market. "Should the deal close, we expect Iliad will disrupt the US mobile market and put significant downward pressure on mobile average revenue per user (ARPU) levels across the whole market," said IHS mobile and telecoms director Ian Fogg. "The US mobile market has relatively high ARPU levels compared with other countries, which creates opportunities for Iliad to innovate and change the game." The offer is also expected to set up a bidding war with rival suitor Sprint, the US mobile firm now controlled by Japan's Softbank that has reportedly been involved in discussions with T-Mobile since early June. (c) 2014 City A.M. |