Verizon gets official with $28 billion Alltel acquisition

It looks like those talks between Verizon and Alltel were pretty deep after all, as the two companies have just come out and made the acquisition official. According to the official announcement, the aggregate value of the transaction is $28.1 billion, and the two companies are aiming to have it completed by the end of the year -- assuming all the necessary regulatory approvals come through. For its part, Verizon is of course boasting that this is a win for customers all around, saying that the merger will create an "enhanced platform of network coverage, spectrum and customer care to better serve the growing needs of both Alltel and Verizon Wireless customers for reliable basic and advanced broadband wireless services." Alltel President and CEO Scott Ford also echoed that sentiment, although his role with the future company seems to be less than defined at the moment, with the official announcement only going so far as to say that he will continue in his current position as head of Alltel "until the merger is completed."

[Via ArkansasBusiness.com]

[Das Boot @ Jun 5th 2008 10:55AM]

woohoo first post again. this is awesome news. now i can text Chad from the commercials all i want bc he will be IN.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:16AM]

Bad news for Alltel customers they will be raped on service fees and will have to endure Verizons crappy proprietary software and crippled phones. How the "EF" is Alltel worth $28 billion?... They only have 13 mil customers!

[Jesse @ Jun 5th 2008 11:58AM]

A good portion of their balance sheet assets are intangibles, primarily Goodwill.

[Michael Scrip @ Jun 5th 2008 12:04PM]

> "How the "EF" is Alltel worth $28 billion?... They only have 13 mil customers!"

The acquisition includes about $5.9 billion in cash and $22.2 billion in debt.

Alltel isn't worth $28 billion... but that's what it will take to buy them free and clear.

[Hold McGroin @ Jun 5th 2008 12:13PM]

Alltel covers more of the US than VZW. They cover places like Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas as well as larger cities. Places where it's easier just to buy coverage than build it s they bought them.

Too bad for Alltel customers, though, now it's time to watch your phones suck with the VZW UI, your prices will go through the roof and your customer service down the toilet. Oh well, at least there's still T-Mo.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 5th 2008 12:23PM]

Their debt is 4 times greater than their value, that's worse than the Sprint/Nextel merger!

Something just doesn't sound right about that, it reminds me of the Bear-Stearns acquisition where they were way down to $2 a share then when news broke that JP Morgan chase would buy them along with a little (a lot, $30 billion dollar bail-out) Govt help magically over night their shares shot up to $30 dollars.

[R3GUL8OR @ Jun 6th 2008 12:54AM]

Hold McGroin: LOL ummm check your facts dumb ass. VZW has had MT coverage LONG before Alltel acquired MT's cellularOne. VZW has much more wider coverage of the US than Alltel ever has.

[baba @ Jun 26th 2008 7:04PM]

for those of you who think that alltels customers bills will go up that is so wrong because verizon wireless will lose lots of alltel customers because the reason they most likely joined alltel is because of there low prices so vzw should keep the pricess similar

[Riko @ Oct 29th 2008 6:48PM]

Hold McGroin: LOL ummm check your facts dumb ass. VZW has had MT coverage LONG before Alltel acquired MT's cellularOne. VZW has much more wider coverage of the US than Alltel ever has.

Check YOUR facts. Alltel has had the largest coverage in terms of land mass than verizon since the 2005 acquisition of Western Wireless. That was independently verified, genius.

[rock99rock @ Jun 5th 2008 10:56AM]

Buh Buh Buh, Ahhhnother one bites the dusssstah

[Alex @ Jun 5th 2008 10:57AM]

http://digg.com/tech_news/Verizon_gets_official_with_28_billion_Alltel_acquisition

[cwj @ Jun 5th 2008 11:04AM]

Ah, well. So much for hoping Alltel would expand into the northeast.


Here's to the money I save up using T-Mo's weak coverage going towards a really great phone from 'cross the seas....

[I LiKe uR PoKeMaNz @ Jun 5th 2008 10:58AM]

Verizon sucks!

[Das Boot @ Jun 5th 2008 11:00AM]

your mom

[I LiKe uR PoKeMaNz @ Jun 5th 2008 11:09AM]

good one!

[Chef Jeff @ Aug 8th 2008 7:20PM]

I have had at&t and t-mobile and can say that neither compares to verizin. I have received nothing but great service from them and in comparison to other companies, that are in the same league as them, the cost is average and worth it.

[Rick White @ Jun 5th 2008 11:00AM]

I could be mistaken, but I thought I saw an Alltel commercial the other night (which candidly poke fun at every other wireless carrier) but the character who normally "plays" Verizon instead had AT&T on his nametag. Perhaps they felt it in bad taste to insult their potential acquirer. Can anyone confirm this?

[Hold McGroin @ Jun 5th 2008 12:40PM]

Given that VZW customers have no idea what they're doing, it wouldn't matter. They're willing to pay for crappy, gimped phones and plan prices that rival AT&T where you can at least get a real phone (unlocked GSM) with no advantage whatsoever. Their customer service is poor too.

I don't know anyone on VZW who doesn't get a corporate phone or discount, but I don't tend to hang out with idiots so that explains a lot.

[Grant @ Jun 5th 2008 1:48PM]

Not all verizon customers are idiots there ass face. You try living out in the suburbs where GSM signals are even more piss poor quality than CDMA. I could either use a GSM carrier and have my calls drop 99% of the time or use verizon and have my calls drop 50% of the time.
Verizon may gimp their phones, but any self respecting person who reads Engadget has a phone that runs at least windows mobile, which verizon does offer untouched.
Verizon is a necessary evil since CDMA networks are faster and have more coverage in North America, which you wouldn't think is an issue since I only live 35 minutes outside of NYC.

So you choose, "Hold McGroin" would you rather be a pompous douche, or have working cell service?

p.s. I have tried t-mobile, which is CDMA as well, and their coverage was worse than the GSM networks.

[Cactus @ Jun 5th 2008 7:08PM]

Yikes, Grant... T-Mobile is most definitely GSM. I don't know where you're going with that last sentence.

(Not that I'm a GSM or CDMA fanboy, by any means.)

[ScOObyDoo @ Jun 5th 2008 11:00AM]

Celebrity deathmatch: Chad up against the "can you hear me now guy".

My money is on Chad.

[Jonathan @ Jun 5th 2008 11:02AM]

Yeah, but the "can you hear me now" guy always travels with his posse (I mean, network). Can you say "group beat down"?

[Das Boot @ Jun 5th 2008 11:04AM]

Chad is too much of a sissy to win while at the same time, the verizon guy only knows how to say 6 words so I assume he is mentally inept. I say a draw, hence the merger. Together they shall form Sissy-Tard

[kal326 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:12AM]

@ScOObyDoo
I put my money on Chad, hes got the wizard. The wizard has already summoned a doberman. What if he summons a lion? "Anybody can get past a dog. But NOBODY fucks with a lion."

[thatrotierkid @ Jun 5th 2008 11:12AM]

ya but the "can you hear me now" guy has mob connections

[kal326 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:07AM]

So now the billing gets interesting, does this mean that Verizon gets a circle or does Alltel lose it? I mean the tiered circle was about the only thing Alltel had going for them, I doubt they would just toss that one out.

[TheGeektoriousBIG @ Jun 5th 2008 11:11AM]

Yeah, wondering the same. That will be da ish if Big Red with the "Can you hear me now, in the circle?" campaign.

[Test Man @ Jun 5th 2008 11:12AM]

Who needs a "circle" when you will have 80+ million people to call or text for free because they will be "IN"?

[Iridium @ Jun 5th 2008 11:24AM]

Do you really think Verizon will keep "IN" calling once there is only one or two cell carriers left.

What do you think all these aquisitions are for. They want to destroy all the competition and then they have you. If you want cell service you'll have to pay through the nose for it.

[Nicky-Larson @ Jun 5th 2008 11:09AM]

Well, it is done. I wonder what the Current alltel customers will do when they feel the pinch of Verizon's Exorbitant prices for everything Verizon. Oh, and don't forget the Unlimited Data plan that is actually 5GB maximum. I have always said it, Verizon sucks, they are extremely expensive, and they make COOL phones feel like Crap. Verizon is a Communication Hospital that every cell phone dreads to go through, because they will come out worst than they went in. They are the reason Cell phone Manufacturers consider America last for cell phones. No one wants the Hassle of "Take this out, put that in, cripple that, and more of that. Yes, cripple that too".

[Lein @ Jun 5th 2008 11:15AM]

You DO know that the 5GB max for wireless data is an industry standard, right? AT&T and Sprint both have a similar policy.

As for the phones being crippled, I say just cook up your own ROM based on Sprint's or another carrier's releases and flash away. Bang, problem solved. Example: XV6800, now sporting EV-DO Rev. A and GPS, all on Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:27AM]

@ Lein

Get your facts straight I have unlimited data with Sprint, there is no 5Gb (cap) max. Sprints $59.99 plan is Unlimited, I have unlimited data on 2 handsets as well, 1 at no charge due to being the primary line the second is $10 a month.

Read: http://nextelonline.nextel.com/NASApp/onlinestore/en/Action/SubmitPhone

[Mills @ Jun 5th 2008 11:29AM]

Right, but you did realize that Alltel doesnt have ANY limit on their internet usage... just sayin

[Lein @ Jun 5th 2008 11:55AM]

@ p3t3b2

Okay, so no set-in-stone 5GB "max," but they still have this little note in the TOS: "We reserve the right to restrict usage if it adversely affects network performance."

HOWEVER, a little more research yielded a hot topic on a popular sprint users' forum: http://www.sprintusers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=163559

Better enjoy that "unlimited" data quick...

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 5th 2008 12:07PM]

@ Lein

You must watch FAUX news or something because now you're trying to spin, you commented that "AT&T and Sprint both have a similar policy" where there is a 5Gb cap on data. It may be true with ATT however it is not true with Sprint, now you're trying to reference a forum and TOS?... I spoke with several different Sprint reps about that "RUMOR" they all said it is not true.

[Lein @ Jun 5th 2008 12:15PM]

@ p3t3b2

Pick and choose want you will, but enjoy either way: http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&tab=wn&ned=&q=sprint+data+cap&btnG=Search+News

Admittedly, they appear to only limit Broadband Access through PC card modems and Phone-as-modem plans... which are, of course, the only two ways you could possibly use that much data.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 5th 2008 12:32PM]

@ Lein

I just got off the phone with Sprint Exec services they said who ever put out that info is incorrect, She said " in fact Sprint encourages the use of it's data".

[RC @ Jun 5th 2008 11:10AM]

The big question is will the feds approve this. Verizon would have pretty much all of Sprint's roaming contracts in their hands. Not to mention the endless list of divestitures that would come from this.

[Iridium @ Jun 5th 2008 11:15AM]

Whoo hoo yea, maybe now Verizon will buy T-Mobile, Sprint will close due to increased pressure and all we will have left is AT&T and Verizon.

Then all of the unlimited plans will disappear, texting will go to $1.00 per text and we'll have to pay $500 a month for Cell access because there won't be any competition anymore.

Whoo hoo can't wait for our absolutely atrocious cell network to get even worse. Hello US government wake up it's time to stop a few mergers.

[kjb434 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:24AM]

If Verizon buys anything else, it'll be Sprint/Nextel and not T-Mobile.

T-Mobile is part of a large European company Duestche Telecom.

Verizon, Alltel, and Sprint/Nextel all run on similar technology.

I'm guessing all aspects of Alltel will fade away (including the circle).

That's what happened when Cingular bought ATT Wireless. Ironically, a couple of years later, the ATT (non-wireless) bough Cingular......

[Donnie @ Jun 5th 2008 11:32AM]

Actually, SBC (parent company that owned Cingular) bought AT&T. They decided to keep the AT&T name because of the recognition associated with it. It is kinda ironic because SBC was one of the "Baby Bells" (spun off of AT&T in the 80's due to the monopoly case) and it bought "Ma Bell".

[steve @ Jun 5th 2008 8:41PM]

Hey Iridium,
You are aware of something called supply and demand
It makes a nice little graph and stuff. Well it kind of applies to cell networks too.
If prices go up as high $1.00 per text, you can bet that there wont be anyone actually texting. If monthly access goes up to $500 per month, well then nobody will be able to own a cell phone for very long and the company wont exactly make money (which is a bad thing in business).

Companies can only charge what people are willing to pay for the service or item. Otherwise they fail.

[dcny @ Jun 6th 2008 2:03AM]

Just wait about another 3-5 years good old Ma Bell will be back At&t seems to be doing a good job of buying back the old companys.

At&t, Verizon and Qwest are the only three left.


At&t or Verizon will buy Qwest then after that I give it 2 to 3 years an either Verizon or At&t will merge or buy the other out and become Ma Bell again maybe with a new name this time but good old 40 year bs plus future bs on the side 1 phone company.

[thegreatdestroyer @ Jun 5th 2008 11:30AM]

I just may switch over to Sprint now. Hopefully they let me cancel my contract when Alltel switches to Verizon.

[the tansman @ Jun 5th 2008 11:38AM]

please, no more "gets official," i'm begging you!

[surfwax95 @ Jun 5th 2008 11:42AM]

...and I'm switching to AT&T.

[steve M @ Jun 5th 2008 11:52AM]

ugh! this is going to suck! This BETTER NOT HAPPEN. IF it does I'm switching to the only other service we have around here, Sprint CDMA.
STUPId.
I Love alltel.
verizon has been ripping off 70% of everyone in our town and surrounding counties. this is stupid.

[will @ Jun 5th 2008 11:55AM]

Yeah! Less competition and higher prices! Let's not forget that the wireless companies had to convince the Government a few years ago that these mergers would be good for the consumer. Has anyone seen any real benefits?

Lower prices would be a start. Non-crippled phones, lower etf's, and no contracts, might have actually happened if there was competition in the marketplace. It's no coincidence that when one carrier raises prices, or limits features. It's called collusion. If the free market actually determined anything in the wireless industry I wouldn't be so mad.

Now I see why Verizon is so expensive. It's not for the network, it's so they have enough cash on hand to buy out the competition.

I F'ing hate them so much right now.

[Sean M. @ Jun 5th 2008 11:59AM]

I see a lot of comments here about price. If price was all that mattered, then why is Sprint sinking like a stone? The fact is, you get what you pay for. Alltel was doing good in their rural markets, but roaming agreements for them would have just gotten more expensive. Then when AT&T and VZW both pushed LTE, Alltel would have had to spend the cash to keep up if they wanted to offer their customers any type of roaming. All of that would have hit the customer in terms of fees.

And pricing competively to build a customer base is great, but eventually, when you have expenditures to maintain that base as it grows, your costs have to increase somewhat.

Yes, VZW is a little on the high side. But they are not alone in what they do. Someone is always first to raise text rates, pro-rate ETF, put a 5GB on data (Can the sprint fanboys please shut up now?).

Everyone wants everything...international roaming, no data cap, free this, unlimited that, etc. How many companies do you think can afford to give the farm and still invest in improvements? Will they raise prices when it's only two...probably. who the hell knows. But AT&T and VZW are already in the drivers seat and would have eventually squeezed the little guys out anyway on 4G alone.

* sigh * Tin cans anyone?

[Hold McGroin @ Jun 5th 2008 12:40PM]

Work for Verizon much? You little shill you.

Measuring anything based on what a lot of Americans do is usually another way of measuring how stupid people in the US are.

Verizon has NO ADVANTAGE for even one of their customers. CDMA phones are easily well behind their GSM counterparts, you can't argue this, it's a fact. Well, that is unless you can find me a CDMA phones with a 5MP camera and a Xenon flash and a screen resolution higher than 320x200. Plus VZW has their awful UI and go ahead and lock your phone down by disabling features like BT file transfer.

Sprint is pretty much the same, but 25% cheaper unless you're on SERO and no awful UI or gimped phones.

AT&T and T-Mo allow you to use unlocked GSM phones. T-Mo is a better company but AT&T has 3G.

So, there you have it. You have to be pretty clueless to use VZW.

Count down for a ton of VZW customers to jump in and defend their Juke or whatever horrible phone they have (yes, including the Venus, Voyager, Env2 and whatever locked dumbphone you think is nice).