Alltel buys Western Wireless
Jan 10 2005 - 01:26 AM ET | In The News
The
Wall Street Journal is
reporting [paid subscription req.] that Alltel has agreed to purchase Western Wireless for $4 billion. Information about this deal was
first leaked last week.
bq. Alltel Corp., the country's sixth-biggest cellular service operator, is expected to announce today that it has reached an agreement to purchase Western Wireless Corp. for $4 billion, plus the assumption of roughly $2 billion in debt, according to people familiar with the talks.
The boards of the two companies met yesterday and approved the transaction, these people said. Alltel will pay roughly $40 a share, including 75% stock and the remainder in cash.
After the deal Alltel will remain the nation's sixth largest wireless carrier with just over 10 million customers (by contrast Verizon Wireless and Cingular Wireless each have over 40 million customers).
Update: The sale has been finalized for $4.4 billion.
