Charter Communications is not interested in acquiring Sprint, the cable company said days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint had proposed such a deal.
Charter Communications is not interested in acquiring Sprint, the cable company said days after the Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint had proposed such a deal.
The proposed deal would have created a new firm that would be controlled by Sprint Chairman Masayoshi Son and his Japanese megacompany, SoftBank, the Journal said.
But Charter has rejected the idea of acquiring Sprint, the nation’s fourth-largest wireless network, saying it has chosen to remain committed to a pact it has with Verizon Communications.
“We understand why a deal is attractive for Softbank, but Charter has no interest in acquiring Sprint, ” Charter said in a statement. “We have a very good [mobile virtual network operator] relationship with Verizon and intend to launch wireless services to cable customers next year.”
At a time when the cable and wireless industries are undergoing enormous changes, a deal between Sprint and Charter could have meant even more disruption — as well as a more complicated relationship involving Comcast .
Charter and Comcast jointly agreed this spring not to start merger or acquisition talks with another wireless company for at least a year without each other’s participation or go-ahead. The cable industry has been seeking a way to enter the wireless business for years; as Americans increasingly shift their Internet consumption to mobile devices and take their data usage to go, traditional cellular carriers such as AT&T and Verizon have stood to benefit massively at the expense of home Internet providers such as Comcast and Charter.
The cable industry has fought back with public Wi-Fi hotspots that enable, for example, Comcast’s Xfinity customers to access mobile broadband without being physically at home. But a truly widespread and robust wireless solution that can compete with cellphone carriers has been elusive, prompting analyst speculation about when and how companies such as Charter would launch a true cellular service.
The agreement between Comcast and Charter helped dampen analyst expectations that either company was imminently planning a major leap into wireless.
Both companies are tinkering with it in a limited manner; Comcast, for example, has begun offering wireless service through a program known as Xfinity Mobile, which uses Verizon’s cellular network when Comcast’s own Wi-Fi is out of range.
But on an earnings call last week, Comcast Chief Executive Brian Roberts said the company is still content with its current strategy, hinting that no major deals were about to drop.
«I don’t see something happening in that we envy a position we don’t have today, » he told investors.
Sprint had also reportedly been courting T-Mobile about an acquisition, according to the Journal.
Sprint declined to comment on Charter’s assertion that it does not want to pursue an acquisition.
Charter Communications shares were up 5.1% to $389.04 shortly after 9 a.m. Pacific Time on Monday.
Fung writes for the Washington Post. Times staff writer Rachel Spacek contributed to this report.
