In its second major acquisition this year, Alltel today said
it will buy Midwest Wireless for $1.08 billion in cash to gain spectrum and
subscribers.
Purchasing privately held Midwest will give Alltel approximately 400,000
customers in Southern Minnesota, Northern and Eastern Iowa and Western
Wisconsin.
In addition to wireless voice, Mankato, Minn.-based Midwest also offers
mobile Internet access through phones and handheld devices, and in some
areas, broadband Internet access.
“[The acquisition] strengthens our position in the wireless industry by
adding CDMA
markets in the Midwestern U.S.,” Scott Ford, Alltel president and CEO, said
in a statement.
Dennis Miller, president and CEO of Midwest, said the sale will benefit
customers who will be served by a company with Midwest’s expertise in
rural coverage and Alltel’s nationwide footprint.
Little Rock, Ark.-based AllTel continues to grow through acquisition. In
January, it bought
Western Wireless in a stock-and-cash deal valued at $6 billion, which made
it the fifth-largest U.S. wireless carrier.
That deal brought Alltel approximately 1.4 million domestic wireless
customers in 19 states, which gave the company 10 million domestic
customers. The deal also brought Alltel 1.6 million international customers
in six countries.
