March 15, 2005
Wireless Deal for Assets in Six States By BLOOMBERG NEWS
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/15/technology/15leap.html?pagewanted=print&position=
Verizon Wireless agreed yesterday to buy airwave licenses and other assets from Leap Wireless International for $102.5 million to increase capacity in six states.
The spectrum in 20 locations includes 9 new markets in Michigan, Wisconsin, Mississippi and Arkansas, Verizon said. The airwaves may also help Verizon enhance service where it already operates, including other parts of the four states as well as Alabama and upstate New York.
Verizon, which was overtaken by Cingular Wireless last year as the nation's largest mobile phone company, is adding capacity for voice, video and Internet services to meet customer demand.
"We're always looking for opportunities" to buy new licenses, Lowell C. McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, said at an industry conference in December. "The good news is we have two parents who are always willing to write the check."
Verizon Wireless, which is based in Bedminster, N.J., is a joint venture of Verizon Communications and the Vodafone Group of Britain, the world's biggest mobile phone operator.
Shares of Leap rose $1.54 yesterday, or 5.8 percent, to $27.99 in over-the-counter trading. Verizon Communications rose 1 cent, to $36.08, on the New York Stock Exchange.
Leap, which is based in San Diego, exited bankruptcy last year. It will transfer its Michigan operations and about 25,000 customers to Verizon Wireless. Leap is leaving the state to focus on building strongholds in other markets, like Colorado, a spokeswoman, Kristen Atkins, said.
Leap said it expected its workers in Michigan to be offered jobs at Verizon or to be transferred to different positions within Leap.
================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu
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