Thursday, December 20, 2012

NextWave, AT&T Get FCC Approval On Acquisition

San Diego-based NextWave Wireless said last night that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has approved the transfer of control of its various spectrum licenses to AT&T, the last remaining regulatory approval required under the merger agreement between the companies. NextWave said it now expects the merger to occur in the first quarter of 2013. AT&T and NextWave reached a deal for AT&T to acquire NextWave's spectrum in August, in a deal worth $25M and up to $25M more in contingent payments; AT&T also acquired a substantial amount of NextWave's outstanding debt, to the tune of around $600M. AT&T is hopin to use the bandwidth from NextWave to power a mobile Internet service.

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