Sprint and Open Mobile Announce Joint Venture in Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands
February 23 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
Sprint (NYSE:S) and PR Wireless, doing business as Open Mobile,
today announced an agreement to combine their businesses in Puerto
Rico, together with Sprint’s business in the U.S. Virgin Islands,
into a new joint venture. The joint venture between two of the key
players in the Puerto Rico wireless market will create a stronger
competitor offering postpaid, prepaid, Lifeline and business
services with increased scale, expanded distribution, improved
network capacity, faster speed, and a deeper spectrum position.
Sprint and Open Mobile will have a 68% and a 32% economic interest,
and a 55% and 45% voting interest in the joint venture,
respectively. Evercore served as financial advisor to Open Mobile
on the transaction.
“The combination of Sprint and Open Mobile will put us in a
better position for sustainable growth and long-term success in the
competitive Puerto Rico market,” said Claudio Hidalgo, Sprint’s
Regional President for Florida, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin
Islands. “We will be able to more efficiently and effectively run
the joint venture by integrating our strong employee teams, retail
operations, and network and spectrum assets to create an improved
mobile experience for our customers.”
“Looking at each company and our strengths in various segments
of the market, we saw an incredible opportunity to join forces in a
way that will benefit our customers, our employees and our
business,” said Juan Saca, CEO of Open Mobile. “Our employees will
be able to offer customers more competitive plans and better
wireless coverage, with Open Mobile customers having a wider
variety of devices to choose from and plans that include nationwide
coverage and options for international roaming.”
The joint venture takes advantage of the strengths of both
Sprint and Open Mobile. A Board of Directors will be established
with Open Mobile and Sprint each designating representatives. A
senior management team, to be named by the Board prior to closing,
will manage day-to-day operations of the joint venture out of
Puerto Rico. The transaction close is subject to review and
approval by the Federal Communications Commission, along with other
regulatory authorities, which is expected to take several
months.
Both companies will continue to operate separately in the market
under their current brands until the transaction closes. No action
is required by existing Open Mobile, Sprint, Boost Mobile, or
Virgin Mobile customers at this time, and they can remain on their
existing devices and service plans. All customers in Puerto Rico
and the US Virgin Islands can expect a smooth transition, and
additional information will be provided to all customers when the
transaction closes.
About Sprint:
Sprint (NYSE: S) is a communications services company
that creates more and better ways to connect its customers to
the things they care about most. Sprint served 59.5 million
connections as of Dec. 31, 2016 and is widely recognized for
developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies,
including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in
the United States; leading no-contract brands including Virgin
Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national
and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1
Internet backbone. Sprint has been named to the Dow Jones
Sustainability Index (DJSI) North America for the past five years.
You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or
www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.
About Open Mobile
Open Mobile is a leading wireless
communications company on the island. It was
established on June 12, 2007. It has a solid, modern
and updated network that can provide a flexible
and high quality service to its customers. Currently,
Open Mobile generates more than 300 direct jobs
and operates more than 309 stores and distribution points. For
more information on the products and services offered
by Open Mobile you can
visit www.openmobilepr.com or www.facebook.com/openmobilepr/
and www.twitter.com/openmobilepr.
View source
version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170223005406/en/
Media:SprintDavid Tovar,
913-315-1451david.tovar@sprint.comorOpen MobileJosué González,
787-810-5757 ext.
4007josue.gonzalez@openmobilepr.comorInvestors:SprintJud
Henry, 800-259-3755jud.d.henry@sprint.comorOpen MobileOlga Bonnin,
787-810-5757 ext. 1002olga.bonnin@openmobilepr.com
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