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Is SK Telecom buying Sprint?

by on16 July 2008

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Could just be talk about collaborating on technology

While nothing has been settled yet and no official word has been released by either company, the rumor mill is red hot with the news that SK Telecom, who is the largest wireless provider in South Korea, is in discussions with Sprint about a possible acquisition; but others have suggested that it is only a discussion for collaboration on technology.

Insiders are suggesting that the Sprint board would be split on if they be willing to sell the company. If a deal would come, it would need the support of the Sprint board, not to mention it would have to clear a variety of regulatory hurdles that could be difficult. In addition, they would need support from private equity firms. SK Telecom is smaller than Sprint with only about 22 million subscribers, which pales in comparison to Sprint’s over 54 million subscribers.

Other sources are claiming that any talk of a possible acquisition is unfounded and the discussions with SK Telecom are only surrounding work on the development and partnering of new technology.

Sprint continues to be the talk of merger and acquisition rumors since they have struggled in recent months on their ability to retain customers. Many claim that this is due, in part, to many things, but Sprint has been making strides to compete and try to retain current subscribers. It has been suggested that Sprint has struggled to incorporate Nextel into the Sprint fold and to migrate these users over to Sprint equipment.

Last modified on 16 July 2008
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