Sprint CEO: Sees Consolidation Harder Under Obama Administration
17 Septembre 2009 - 4:25PM
Dow Jones News
While Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) Chief Executive Dan Hesse declined
to comment on the takeover speculation swirling around his company,
he noted that industry consolidation would likely be more difficult
under President Barack Obama's administration.
The new administration would likely seek more conditions and
more closely scrutinize potential combinations, Hesse said during
an analyst conference on Thursday.
Sprint was reportedly eyed as a takeover candidate by Deutsche
Telekom AG (DT). Both companies have declined to comment on the
reports.
Hesse said that investors shouldn't be so quick to jump at the
prospect of mergers and acquisitions.
"I don't know if it'll happen or if it's necessary," he said on
the sidelines of the event.
Hesse expressed his commitment to Sprint's various businesses.
The company will eventually make investments in its pre-paid
business once it hits capacity, he said. That could include Boost
Mobile, which runs on its Nextel network, as well as the pending
acquisition of Virgin Mobile USA Inc. (VM).
It's unclear, however, which network Sprint would eventually
invest in, he said.
On the company's fourth-generation network aspirations, Hesse
said that Sprint is willing to step up and fund Clearwire Corp.'s
(CLWR) roughly $2 billion funding gap. Clearwire Chief Executive
Bill Morrow earlier told Dow Jones Newswires that he expects to
have the funding identified by the end of the year.
Sprint intends to maintain its majority ownership of Clearwire,
Hesse said.
On the issue of handset exclusivity, Hesse said the practice is
good for competition, but he expects more scrutiny over it. He
added he sees limits on the timeframe for the exclusivity
period.
-By Roger Cheng, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2153;
roger.cheng@dowjones.com