AT&T and Leap Wireless have reached a deal for AT&T to buy the
smaller regional carrier, which operates under the Cricket brand.
AT&T will keep and expand the Cricket brand to additional U.S.
cities. The purchase includes all of Leap's assets, including 3,400
employees, 5 million customers, a CDMA and LTE network, and radio
spectrum licenses covering 137 million people.AT&T will pay $15/share for Leap, or about $1.2 billion total. About 30% of Leap shareholders have already agreed to vote in favor of the deal. The deal will be subject to FCC and Department of Justice review.
AT&T tried and failed to buy T-Mobile in 2011, after the government objected. T-Mobile recently completed its purchase of MetroPCS, Cricket's main direct competitor.
