Sprint could add new business as a result of AT&T / T-Mobile deal, analyst believes

By on May 20, 2011 at 7:30 PM
Business May 20, 2011

Sprint is openly opposed to AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile, but the scrappy carrier stands to benefit from the deal according to Piper Jaffray analyst Christopher Larsen. Larsen on Friday lifted his rating on Sprint stock from neutral to overweight, while also upping his price target from $5 to $6.50. The analyst sees brighter days ahead for the carrier through the rest of 2011 and 2012 as well, and he also believes the AT&T / T-Mobile deal could be a good thing for Sprint. Larsen thinks the merger could cause some subscribers to leave the new mega-carrier and flee to Sprint. Beyond that, AT&T may be required to divest some markets in order for the deal to be approved, and Sprint may very well pick up that business or even some of AT&T’s spectrum if it is forced to let some go. Finally, the analyst also believes a post-merger market would be less prone to aggressive price cutting, which would certainly help Sprint maintain a competitive advantage.

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  • http://www.searingarrow.com AlienSix

     Sprint is the real winner here

    • Bob G

       They’re just too silly to realize it.

    • Cer

      Yup, they have a long history of winning. This is another one.

      [insert eye roll]

  • http://profiles.google.com/coryglee Cory Lee

    ” less prone to aggressive price cutting, which would certainly help Sprint maintain a competitive advantage.”

    Consumers are the real loser here.

    • Cer

      Yeah, I didn’t like that sentence either.

      • Baboom

        So apparently businesses aren’t suppose to make profits?

      • Anonymous

        I have no problem with profits. I have a problem with gouge-the-consumer -because-they-can’t-get-their-gas/phone service-anywhere-else record breaking profits.

      • Cer

        Apparently

      • serpentor

         I wouldn’t mind a government run network where we could just BYO phone. They want to and are actively spying on us anyway, so might as well get some benefit from it.

      • Anonymous

        Baboon you seem like a free market kinda person but when someone says they don’t 
        ” less prone to aggressive price cutting, which would certainly help Sprint maintain a competitive advantage.” it means they are all against profits right? Not so black and white. Remember when Sprint launched its unlimited everything $99 plan it was a few months later that Verizon launched its $99 unlimited talk plan which was very welcomed by many and right after Verizon AT&T followed suit. Remember when Verizon surprised everyone with the $69.99 unlimited plan AT&T followed suit that Monday. It is free market working. If this merger equals less competition and less deals for the consumer than it is against free market. 

    • Anonymous

      I think if the customers simply chose to purchase their service from a company they could afford, OR, chose not to purchase their service at all because the prices were prohibitive companies would have no choice but to lower pricing. 

      Customers don’t lose in a free market. They control the thing. God help us if the government gets even more control and stops these guys from competing! 

  • Anonymous

    Pretty much, if you’re not AT&T or T-Mobile, you’re gonna come out ahead in all this. 

  • http://twitter.com/Mattwortham matt wortham

     Sprint wins for the simple fact that they have unlimited data, not “unlimited data” up to 2gb.

  • Anonymous

    I’m starting to wonder how well AT&T thought this through before betting on this dral. It looks like they will gain T-Mobile’s spectrum but may end up giving some of theirs away as well as some customers. And that doesn’t include those who will move to Sprint voluntarily. If the deal flops, they’ll have to pay T-Mobile and give away some spectrum. I can’t wait to see how it ends up.

  • Dyamond486

    Yea right, all u ppl are dreaming if u think sprint is a winner. Sprint is fighting for a reason. You will soon belong to Verizon. You will also have to pay a hefty cellphone bill.

  • Anonymous

     Long Live SPRINT! Get some more android love, switch to LTE and keep prices reasonable, I don’t see how you could lose.

    • Dejan Jancevski

      ” I don’t see how [Sprint] could lose.”

      Really?!?  Here’s an idea…ask how Sprint ended up losing 9M out of the original 20M Nextel iDEN users without being able to convert them over to Sprint CDMA.  Here’s the answer: Sprint sucks!  Sprint is so clueless about how to implement technology that they would sooner adopt 1 tech (e.g., WiMAX) and dump it 2 years later after only doing a half-a$$ job of selling it, rather than promoting the living daylights out of it and getting it to run wild. 

      Then there’s the whole PTT fiasco.  Nextel iDEN allows for 1 person to contact up to 200 people simultaneously with a voice call!  Sure, you could email or text easily just as many, but a LIVE voice?  Good luck doing that with AT&T, T-Mo, Verizon, or even Sprint proper!  Plus, you can do so with international customers/contacts too!  So what does Sprint offer that is superior? Nothing.  Comparable?  Zilch.  Anything remotely close?  Please…Sprint is clueless. 

      Remember, this is the same company (i.e., Sprint) that has been happy doing next to nothing as its post-paid customer base walks away.  Post-paid customers are what keeps a company in business since they are far more loyal and generate far greater revenues than do pre-paid users.  Yet who is Sprint going for?  Pre-paids!  Yeah…that’s the sign of a great company alright…NOT!

      And yet you can’t see how Sprint could lose?!?  I guess American education really does leave a lot to be desired.  So sad.

      • Anonymous

        Dude relax……The point that you had to write a 3 and half paragraph to my two line OPINION is the sad part. I actually am a well educated and highly informed AMERICAN.

      • numetheus

        And really … nobody cares. Sprint sucks.

  • Anonymous

     Sprint needs to get some new phones, and offer some killer packages right now/promos

    • serpentor

       idk about that. I’m with Sprint right now, but VZW has better plans for just tablets.

  • Sin City

    I could tell that some posters in here are not business savvy at all.  Sprint is not the real winner here at all.  What you’re looking at is a good consolation prize for them.  AT&T will have close to 140 million customers, with Verizon being second place with about 103 even.  Sprint would need another 51 million customers, to even come close to these carriers.  This is winning to you?

    I think Vodafone/Verizon will be one of the companies interested in Sprint, if the merger happens.  If that happens, the smaller companies might as well dabble in another business.  No way the FCC and DOJ would think this is great for the consumers.  

  • Duke

     And Mr. Larsen got paid by AT&T how much to spread this nonsense?

  • nicastro78

    Who says humpty dumpty cant be put back together again. The Bell companies are putting themselves back together and the government is allowing it. Don’t kid yourself, Uncle Sam will allow this merger and AT&T knew that when they started this. Know company would agree to losing $6B otherwise. As far as the law is concerned there will still be 3 national carriers and multiple regional carriers. This means that there is no monopoly in the eyes of justice and this merger will succeed. The consumer will be screwed, while larger corporations get even larger and politicians get even richer.

  • Sprint_employee

    Sprint management is beyond lame.  They take every opportunity and blow it. 

    They are spending millions on lobbying the govt to block the AT&T deal instead of taking this opportunity to one up AT&T. 

    From the Nextel buyout to this Sprint still doesn’t have a clue.  They come across as a desperate red headed stepchild jealous of what they couldn’t have.  

    Get over it Sprint.  Get us some better phones and improve our network.  Stop focusing on AT&T and focus internally how you can make things better for YOUR customers.  

  • Anonymous

    Instead of fostering confidence with it’s stock-holders and customers, Sprint goes public declaring that they will be destroyed by the merger. 

    An company that tries to use the government to stop it’s competition is evil. 

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_GP2WYAHXS6CRUREISWBGPUSUGE Michael

    And this message was hand delivered from Captain Obvious i suppose?

  • David Brindisi

    Sprint isn’t really opposed tot he merger, because the reality is that with the GSM compatibility issue there isn’t anywhere else for T-Mobile to go other than to AT&T. By saying they are opposed, Sprint is just trying to gain leverage so that they don’t get marginalized by the new AT&T and VZW. As long as Sprint has access to all of the same new handsets that are offered by AT&T and VZW (like the iPhone) then they’ll be fine. If Sprint plays their hand well, they could come out ahead as the alternative to the “big two”  You may even see Sprint buy a regional CDMA carrier like US Cellular.

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