Verizon wins war for Straight Path Communications, as AT&T refuses to top $3.1bn bid
- Thursday, May 11th, 2017
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Verizon has reportedly outbid its telecoms rival AT&T with a $3.1bn (£2.4bn) deal for Straight Path Communications, which specialises in millimetre wave communications that could be a valuable asset in the development of 5G networks.
AT&T was seemingly set to complete the acquisition of Straight Path when it announced its plans to acquire the 735 millimetre spectrum licenses in the 39 GHz band and the 133 licenses in the 28 GHz band, that Straight path holds, for $1.6bn last month.
At the time, AT&T said the acquisition would “accelerate the delivery of new experiences for consumer and business like virtual and augmented reality, telemedicine, autonomous cars, smart cites and more”. 
However, following Verizon’s increased bid, AT&T refused to fire back with an even higher offer – leaving Verizon to harness its plans for those areas instead.
As a result of the new deal, Verizon will pay a termination fee of $38m to its rival on behalf of Straight Path, the Wall Street Journal reports.
