AT&T has received approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), succeeding in acquiring Leap Wireless International, which operates under the Cricket brand.
The company started the process of acquiring Leap Wireless International in July 2013. AT&T's stockholders gave an approval for the acquisition in November 2013 and on Thursday, March 13 this year, the FCC also gave its thumbs up.
"The deal was subject to approval by Leap's shareholders and to review by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Department of Justice. The FCC approved the transaction within its 180-day review clock. AT&T will update its full-year 2014 guidance to reflect the impact of this transaction when it announces first-quarter 2014 results on April 22, 2014," per AT&T.
The U.S. wireless service provider confirmed that it has acquired all of Leap's stock and wireless properties, which includes the company's licenses, retail stores, network assets as well as Cricket's subscribers. AT&T has agreed to pay $15 per share in cash to Leap's shareholders.
The company also announced that Leap shareholders will also get a contingent right, which will entitle them to the net proceeds expected on the sale of Leap's 700 MHz "A Block" spectrum in Chicago. Leap purchased the spectrum for $204 million in August 2012.
AT&T will combine Cricket's current operations and the company hopes to give stiff competition to rivals in the no-contract segment with low-cost plans and an impressive array of smartphones. The new Cricket brand under AT&T will now also have access to AT&T's nationwide 4G LTE network, which covers more than 280 million people in the U.S. AT&T confirmed that it will also get access to Cricket's distribution channels and the company will try to expand Cricket's reach in additional U.S. markets.
In February 2014, Cricket had a subscriber base of 4.57 million customers and the company's wireless network caters to around 97 million people in 35 U.S. states.
FCC indicates that AT&T has made commitments as part of the deal to build more wireless networking infrastructure, which will enable the company to bring its 4G LTE services to additional markets in the U.S.
AT&T has also promised to offer certain rate plans to customers to help value-conscious and Lifeline customers. The carrier has also agreed to offer customers device trade-in credit program and a feature phone device trade-in program to select Leap customers.
