#acquisition

What a sellout, how sad.

The recent CEO and Board are a bunch of cowards plain and simple. Total lip service and many even bought that lip service. Look what has happened. Beyond a sad day for many people. They say the only constant things in life is change and paying taxes. But change doesn' t mean to sell out to VULTURES. You FAILED as leaders ...but what do you care. You get a lot of money..That is what is it all about right. But also many of you voted for this. You RUINED a respected... what was once a pretty good company. A fact is a fact. Just terrible.

The announcement that AT\&T will acquire 50MHz of spectrum from EchoStar for \$23 billion represents the definitive end of the long-running attempt to maintain four nationwide wireless carriers in the United States. The deal, reportedly brokered under pressure from President Trump to prevent a politically damaging EchoStar bankruptcy, changes the structure of the US wireless industry permanently. It also highlights the challenges of sustaining competition in an industry where scale, spectrum, and capital are decisive factors.

For AT\&T, the transaction is a decisive win. By securing 30MHz of mid-band spectrum at 3.45GHz and 20MHz of low-band spectrum at 600MHz, AT\&T closes much of the gap that has long separated it from T-Mobile in 5G capacity. This acquisition not only strengthens its mobile network but also bolsters its fixed wireless access product, AT\&T Internet Air, which becomes a stronger competitor to both T-Mobile’s fast-growing FWA business and cable broadband. AT\&T also gains a valuable new wholesale relationship, as EchoStar’s Boost Mobile customers migrate onto AT\&T’s network. This arrangement improves network utilization and provides stable wholesale revenue with little acquisition cost, while giving AT\&T a prepaid brand to counter challenges from T-Mobile and cable MVNOs.

For EchoStar, the deal is a retreat from the costly dream of building a facilities-based fourth carrier. With billions in debt and regulatory headwinds, EchoStar chose survival over independence. The \$23 billion infusion allows it to retire debt and reposition itself as a hybrid MNO, running its own cloud-native 5G core while relying on AT\&T’s radio network for national coverage. This move stabilizes the company but confirms that the four-carrier doctrine has failed.

The consequences for the broader industry are profound. Verizon now finds itself in the most difficult position. Once the network quality leader, it has fallen behind on mid-band spectrum compared to both T-Mobile and AT\&T. With AT\&T closing much of the spectrum gap, Verizon faces greater pressure to invest heavily to keep pace, all while defending its customer base against FWA competitors and cable MVNOs. T-Mobile, on the other hand, sees its once-unique spectrum advantage eroded. It remains strong, but will now be forced to compete harder on price, promotions, and service differentiation, which could compress margins.

Cable operators, particularly Comcast and Charter, emerge as short-term winners, as their MVNO businesses gain leverage from the intense competition between the big three carriers. Yet, the long-term picture is more complicated. With only three wholesale partners left, the supply of network access is more concentrated, which increases bargaining power for the mobile carriers. Over time, this is likely to result in higher wholesale prices and less favorable terms, making the current window of opportunity for cable companies to lock in deals absolutely critical.

From a policy perspective, the transaction marks a turning point. For over a decade, US regulators insisted that a four-carrier market was essential for healthy competition. That policy has now collapsed. With EchoStar pivoting to partnership instead of building an independent network, the United States has formally transitioned to a three-carrier market. The Department of Justice is unlikely to oppose the deal, given its reported political origins and the administration’s explicit interest in keeping EchoStar solvent. This leaves regulators with a new challenge: how to ensure competition and consumer benefit in a market dominated by three powerful incumbents.

Looking ahead, EchoStar still controls valuable spectrum, most notably AWS-4 in the 2GHz band, but also holdings in AWS-3, CBRS, C-band, and millimeter wave frequencies. These assets will attract interest from Verizon, which desperately needs mid-band spectrum, and from T-Mobile, which has always opportunistically added spectrum. Although EchoStar faces restrictions from its earlier role in the T-Mobile/Sprint merger that prevent selling certain spectrum until 2026, political pressure could easily waive those limits if it serves broader interests.

Each of the major players now faces clear strategic imperatives. AT\&T must execute flawlessly, ensuring that Boost’s integration strengthens its network rather than degrades it, while aggressively using its prepaid and FWA offerings to challenge cable. Verizon’s priority is defensive: it must retain its wholesale contracts with Comcast and Charter, even at the cost of margins, to avoid losing a critical revenue stream. T-Mobile must take the offensive, offering aggressive terms to win cable’s wholesale traffic and reshaping the industry’s balance of power. For Comcast and Charter, the moment is one of maximum leverage, and they must extract the most favorable long-term wholesale terms before the market consolidates further.

The AT\&T-EchoStar spectrum deal therefore represents far more than a simple transaction. It is the closing chapter of the four-carrier experiment, a restructuring of market dynamics around three national players, and the beginning of a new era where cable companies and MVNOs play kingmaker roles in wholesale negotiations. At the same time, it highlights the risks of overreliance on politically brokered interventions and the limits of regulatory engineering in a capital-intensive industry. The US wireless market now faces the challenge of fostering competition and innovation in a concentrated three-player environment that will define the next decade of telecom strategy.

https://www.sdxcentral.com/analysis/the-5-firms-who-could-buy-intels-network-business/

https://www.sdxcentral.com/analysis/the-5-firms-who-could-buy-intels-network-business/

I'm hearing rumors AT&T wants to close the Lumen deal before the end of the year. This might explain why.

AT&T announced yesterday that they will pay EchoStar $23 billion in cash to acquire a portion of EchoStar's wireless spectrum licenses, specifically 30 MHz of mid-band (3.45 GHz) and 20 MHz of low-band (600 MHz) spectrum - the deal is expected to close sometime in mid-2026

After Layoffs, Chicago Reader Survives With New Seattle-Based Owner

The Pacific Northwest media company Noisy Creek announced the acquisition Tuesday of Chicago's longstanding alt-weekly, which has struggled in recent years.

https://blockclubchicago.org/2025/08/26/after-layoffs-chicago-reader-survives-with-new-portland-based-owner/

Block Club Chicago
Aug/26/2025 05:24 PM
Location: Chicago, Illinois

The advancement of Pfizer's antibody-dr-g conjugate portfolio has not spared the former Seagen site—and those who helped develop the therapies—from layoffs.

Pfizer lays off 100 workers at former Seagen HQ in Seattle area
https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/pfizer-lays-100-former-seagen-hq-seattle-area

Fierce Pharma
2025-08-26 T 14:40:57.136Z
www.fiercepharma.com

Good luck boys,

• TW

IBM will likely be sold off in pieces and what’s left, acquired, much like Digital Equipment Corporation and Sun Microsystems. Two once great companies with some brilliant people that had strategic plans that failed to pivot in time for the way the marketplace was going. I loved working for DEC, until we started losing money.

When will IBM get achieve a healthy revenue growth rate? It has been many years since we have had consistent impressive revenue growth. It seems executives are focused on cost cutting and acquisitions to achieve profitability and meager revenue growth.

Just putting it out there but the Cenovus board of directors should contemplate a trade of MEG for Lloyd thermal/Lloyd cold production assets. Cenovus would obviously have to pay a lot more to close this deal but it may be the only way to get rid of a manager that believes people with no Thermal experience can run the control rooms at thermal plants and also a LTCHO superintendent who just shortly found out the thermal plants run 24 hrs a day.......
Might be tough with the great acquisitions of Gear and Rife energy on second thought.
Never mind, buy Meg and just shut LTCHO down, that's probably the best.

Welp, we are getting bought, how long before they start laying us off?

Rumours abound that Mark’s layoff was a surprise to him and that the board offered him a graceful way out but that he didnt accept it.

We heard M&A during the earnings call.

This the firing of Mark be a prelude to OpenText being acquired?
If so, who?

Just like at APC. We hit $110 a share and then went into freefall. Wound up floundering in the $40's till we were bought. Our debt wasn't the same but if VH keeps paying it down as a focus, you will start looking attractive for someone who wants part of your assets. A 20% premium barely gets you over $50. Sad...

Public story: John B, President & COO, “leaves for a CEO role elsewhere”.

Alternative story: he was walked to the door with an excuse.

"Think about it": you don’t pour 2-3 years into Reinvention, secure the Lexmark deal, build the org around your plan… and then bail two weeks before the real integration battle begins... unless someone either makes it impossible for you to stay or strongly suggests you go.

The narrative is classic:

• Announcement wrapped in cloying praise (corporate damage control).

• Immediate successor already lined up (succession was planned waaay before the news went public).

• Keeps a Board seat and a ceremonial “Integration Committee” role (an elegant exile to save face, not actual operational control).

If this was his choice, it’s because he saw the cost overruns, turf wars, and ugly compromises coming once Lexmark and Xerox cultures start grinding against each other.

If it wasn’t his choice, it’s because someone higher (guess who?) decided the Reinvention architect wasn’t the right one to live in the house he designed.

Either way, JB’s timing is perfect: he leaves with his reputation (almost) intact, before anything collapses, while keeping a Board seat so he can still claim credit if it somehow works. He’s also safely out of the firing line when the knives come out.

Bruno gets his big career upgrade. The rest of the leadership team gets to “own” the unfinished Reinvention house.

We, the employees-peasants, get to keep holding up the walls while the "architect" waves from a safer place.