MetroPCS offers more than $5 billion for Leap
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MetroPCS Communications Inc made an unsolicited offer on Tuesday to buy smaller rival Leap Wireless International Inc for about $5.5 billion in stock, seeking to fend off competition from larger U.S. mobile service providers.
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Maybe Leap shouldn't have blown off a flirting MetroPCS.
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The $5.6 billion deal is part of an effort by G.M. to raise money and focus on its core business.
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Wireless phone provider MetroPCS Communications Inc. publicly offered Tuesday to buy a regional rival for more than $5 billion in stock, a long-anticipated move that would create a nationwide wireless carrier dedicated to the discount market.
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A private equity consortium led  by The Carlyle Group plans a $5.5 billion bid for the world's  top chip packaging firm, Advanced Semiconductor Engineering  Inc. (ASE), Taiwan-based ASE said on Friday.
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(InfoWorld) - Femtocells, an emerging technology for improving cellular coverage in homes and enterprises, have attracted the interest of none other than Google. The search giant participated in a $25 million round of funding for Ubiquisys, a femtocells vendor based in Swindon, U.K. Technology venture funds Accel Partners, Atlas Venture, and Advent Venture Partners also invested, Ubiquisys announced Friday. Femtocells, named for an order of size in physics that is smaller than "pico" or "nano," are cellular base stations for individual homes or offices. Mobile operators hope to sell them to customers who will install them and immediately enjoy better coverage for data and entertainment services. Weak cellular signals indoors, where most high-speed data services are used, have stunted the growth of those lucrative offerings, according to industry analysts. Google invested in Ubiquisys as part of efforts to help people use the Internet wherever they are with the richest possible experience, spokesman David-John Collins said. "It's about promoting different ways and platforms for people to access the Internet itself," Collins said. Also Friday, theÂ company told the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC)Â it would bid at least $4.6 billion in an upcoming auction of 700MHz wireless spectrum if the FCC imposes certain conditions. They include letting consumers buy any phone, use it on any network, and download any applications, services or content they want. Google also wants the auction winner to have to sell access wholesale to other service providers. Google's investments in unused optical fiber networks and a free Wi-Fi system for its hometown, plus its planned involvement in a San Francisco Wi-Fi network, have led to theories that it plans to compete with incumbent broadband providers. The company has also invested in Wi-Fi sharing technology vendors Fon Technology and Meraki Networks and powerline broadband provider Current Communications Services, Collins said. Privately held Ubiquisys was founded in 2004 and earlier this year introduced the ZoneGate femtocell system. Many established carrier equipment vendors, including Nokia Siemens Networks BV, Motorola, and Alcatel-Lucent, also are developing and testing femtocell technology. Commercial deployment of the devices is expected to start in earnest next year.
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Platinum Equity will acquire Covad Communications for about $304 million, making the communications services company the latest technology company to sell to a private equity firm.Platinum will pay $1.02 in cash per share for Covad, a 59 percent premium over Covad&#39;s closing price Friday on the American Stock Exchange, the companies announced Sunday. The acquisition is expected to close by the end of the second quarter of 2008.San Jose, Calif.-based Covad provides voice and data services such as VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) and DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) to businesses, specifically small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).In June,&#160;Covad cut 8 percent of its staff&#160;as part of a restructuring that also saw the company take a $1.5 million charge for Q2 2007.It is due to report third quarter results Tuesday. The company reported a loss of $11.6 million for the second quarter of this year.Private equity firms have been particularly active in acquiring technology companies this year. TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs&#160;bought Alltel&#160;in May for $27.5 billion, with TPG and Silver Lake Partners&#160;snapping up Avaya&#160;for $8.2 billion just a few weeks later.&#160;
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The wireless service provider offered more than $5 billion in stock for rival Leap.
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Royal Philips Electronics NV said Friday it will bid around $5.1 billion for Respironics Inc., a maker of medical devices that assist or monitor breathing.
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Wireless chip maker Texas Instruments Inc  said on Friday it expanded its share buyback program by $5 billion, or about 10 percent of its market capitalization, sending shares up 3.7 percent.
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The insurance giant MetLife Inc. announced Monday that it was acquiring Travelers Life & Annuity Co. from Citigroup Inc. for at least $11.5 billion.
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Company will begin selling the Vision Smart Device PPC-6601, a combination cell phone and Pocket PC device with a slide-out keyboard.
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By Nuntawun Polkuamdee, Bangkok Post, Thailand  Dec. 19--Metro Systems Corporation Plc (MSC) is negotiating with several  foreign companies to form a strategic partnership to support future business  growth, according to president Narong Charuvajana.
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Wireless service provider MetroPCS Communications Inc on Tuesday proposed buying competitor Leap Wireless International Inc for more than $5 billion in stock in a letter to the company's board of directors.
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The offer values Hutchison Essar, one of Indiaâs fastest-growing telecommunications companies, at about $19 billion.
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Qwest Communications International  Inc. Q.N offered more than $7 billion for MCI Inc. MCIP.O,  topping an earlier bid by Verizon Communications Inc. VZ.N,  Bloomberg News said on Sunday.
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In an attempt to invigorate developers large and small around Google's XML-based runtime Desktop platform, it announced this morning it will give $5,000 grants to individuals, and invest as much as $100,000 in companies, willing to produce popular "Google Gadgets."