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Filed under: Alltel , Verizon Wireless The suits at the Department of Justice just green-lighted Verizon's planned acquisition of regional rival Alltel, moving the two CDMA giants closer to a marriage that would easily eclipse AT&T to become the largest wireless carrier in North America. There's a catch, though, and a rather hefty one at that -- Verizon has to agree to divest itself of some 100 local markets in 22 states to keep the competitive landscape in action; given that they've already indicated a willingness to shed some markets to seal the deal, it probably won't be an issue. The next hurdle for Vertel (or Allzon, depending on how you roll) will come on November 4, when the FCC votes on whether it'll bless the deal. As for the rumors that Verizon is now eligible to get Alltel at a 50 percent discount with a $1 billion mail-in rebate if it agrees to a two-year contract, we're not hearing any comment from either side. Department of Justice approves Verizon's Alltel acquisition, requires more concessions originally appeared on Engadget Mobile on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:02:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Helio , Virgin Mobile , MVNOs It ain't over until it's over, but we just got word that Helio store managers received notification this week that the axe is finally falling: (at least some of) the nationwide chain of retail stores will be shuttered during Virgin's takeover of Helio. As we've heard, "there is no 'merge' in this merger," so it sounds like after this year 's big executive reshuffle , SK Telecom is bailing on their half-billion dollar enterprise a big way. No word if the fabled Ocean 2 will make it -- or if Virgin will even let Helio customers keep their phones. Alongside Helio -- more or less the last man standing -- the great MVNO goldrush also dies. Unfortunate that besides Virgin and a few local and M2M providers (like Amazon's Whispernet), pretty much no one was able to make it work. Then again, no one ever never said making cellphones and running any kind of carrier was easy. Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Alltel , Verizon Wireless , EV-DO , CDMA Verizon has certainly courted Alltel before , but this time, the two could finally be rounding third base. According to a breaking report at CNBC , Verizon is "in deep in talks to acquire Alltel," which of course is America's fifth largest wireless carrier. It's no secret that Alltel has been riding fairly high of late , and unless your memory is totally shot, you'll likely recall that it was just recently "taken private by TPG and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners in a $27.5 billion deal ." Not surprisingly, officials at both outfits refused to comment on the rumblings, but if this does indeed go down, analysts are expecting Verizon to pay around 8x Alltel's current EBITDA, whereas TPG / Goldman Sachs paid 9.2x. We'll keep you posted on any developments. Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Filed under: Software , Nokia In a move meant to bolster its software development prowess, Nokia just announced the acquisition Trolltech. Who's Trolltech? Well, its software can be found in some 10 million devices. In fact, Trolltech's Qt is used by such familiar applications as Skype, Google Earth, and Photoshop Elements while their Qtopia was spotted on a hacked Archos 5 series earlier this month. By acquiring Trolltech's software development frameworks and application platforms, Nokia hopes to help developers create Internet applications that work on PCs and across Nokia devices. Specifically, Nokia claims that the move will "further increase the competitiveness of S60 and Series 40." The deal also grandfathers Nokia into the LiMo Foundation and its attempt to bring open-source to your handset. Hear that Android? The $153 million offer must still be processed through regulatory channels and approved by shareholders -- all expected before June in out. Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Alltel The FCC hath spake: TPG Capital and GS Capital Partners (a subsidiary of Goldman Sachs), the two private equity firms looking to buy out the paradoxically national-regional carrier Alltel, have been given the greenlight. The two firms will pony up $24.7 billion (about $2050 per customers) to take Alltel , flush with cash and new customers , off the public market, with the expectation of closing the deal by November 22nd and paying some $71.50 cash per share to current shareholders. Two words: cha-ching. [Via MoCoNews ] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Filed under: Misc Are we about to have another national carrier on our hands? MetroPCS has put together a $5.3 billion stock swap offer for Leap Wireless -- perhaps better known for its Cricket brand -- potentially pairing two regionals to create the nation's fifth-largest carrier, displacing Alltel in the process and combining regional licenses to create a rather generous coverage footprint. Of course, this is all based on the assumption that Leap's cool with the plan; at this point, all we know is that MetroPCS sent a nice little letter to Leap's board of directors. If everything goes according to plan, though, and the appropriate regulatory bodies approve, expect the two to close on the deal in spring of next year. Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments