According to Reuters Verizon has placed a “tentative” bid for WIND Mobile in Canada. There’s no specific price tag at this point, because Verizon will have to assess WIND Mobile’s assets. That being said, an estimated value ranges from about $600 million to $800 million. Neither company has made an official confirmation of such at this time.
It looks like Big Red might truly be interested in moving operations up north soon, because rumors also point to the company moving towards an acquisition of Mobilicity. Of course, as with any other carrier interested in making the purchase, Verizon will first have to get an all clear from both Vodafone and the Canadian government.
That means, as we’ve seen plenty of times before, just because Big Red is ready to front the cash doesn’t mean they’ll be allowed to acquire one of the two companies and their subsequent assets. Still, just the fact that rumors have surfaced about Verizon possibly acquiring two struggling companies up north, suggests they’re willing to jump through the necessary hoops.
Verizon may very well have what it takes to succeed however, as companies in the past have been denied solely because of competition. In other words, Verizon could potentially generate more competition in the Canadian wireless market, which is exactly what the smaller three startups, Mobilicity and WIND included, were trying to do.
Verizon is using the same 700MHz spectrum here in the States, so it wouldn’t be a stretch for them to gobble up the same spectrum in Canada. In addition, it would allow the company to purchase high-end devices at a significant discount. Although, there’s no indication that such dealings would be beneficial to consumers on the handset pricing front.
If no deal is met, the companies and resulting spectrum will be auctioned off starting January 14th, 2014. New entrants looking to get in on the action, need only to make their presence known before September.
What do you think of this news Canadian readers? Would you be comfortable with Verizon offering service? Or are you completely against Verizon snatching up either one of these companies, and why?