T-Mobile, Verizon eye separate UScellular acquisitions to avoid regulators

T-Mobile and Verizon are actively negotiating to acquire specific segments of the United States Cellular Corporation (UScellular), a major regional wireless carrier, aiming to expand their coverage, per the Wall Street Journal.

T-Mobile plans to pay over $2 billion for UScellular’s spectrum licenses and assets. It expects to finalize the deal this month.

Meanwhile, Verizon is exploring talks on a separate transaction, which might not result in an agreement, according to people familiar with the matter.

Notably, both the mobile network giants hope that separate deal discussions would ward off regulators and antitrust concerns, mainly because authorities look at wireless mergers market by market.

UScellular predominantly serves rural areas across 21 states. It has been actively seeking buyers for its operations and spectrum licenses to capitalize on the increasing demand for wireless connectivity in underserved regions.

The regional wireless carrier, facing customer decline, initiated a strategic reassessment in August 2023. It lost 47,000 postpaid phone customers last year.

Following the news, UScellular’s stock surged over 20% on Thursday.