Verizon Communications Inc. is considering buying back US Cellular Corp.’s stake in its Los Angeles business if they can agree on a reasonable price. The chief of Verizon’s consumer division expressed interest in the potential buyback, stating that Verizon has long been eager to repurchase the stake. According to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, Verizon and T-Mobile USA Inc. were in discussions to purchase portions of U.S. Cellular, a carrier with over 4 million wireless subscribers in 21 states.
Verizon’s market share has been declining, with competitors like AT&T Inc. and T-Mobile gaining ground. Data collected by Bloomberg shows that Verizon’s portion of the US retail wireless market decreased from 36.5% to 35.2% from 2021 to 2023. To combat this trend and drive growth, Sampath has implemented price increases and introduced additional perks such as bundled Netflix and Max streaming plans. Despite this, Sampath remains focused on strategies to attract and retain customers, including potentially repurchasing US Cellular Corp.’s stake in its Los Angeles business.
However, the chief of Verizon’s consumer division expressed interest in the potential buyback, stating that Verizon has long been eager to repurchase the stake. Sowmyanarayan Sampath mentioned in an interview with Bloomberg that they would only proceed with a deal if the price was right, leaving uncertainty about whether an agreement would be reached.
Sampath did not disclose what Verizon would consider a fair price for the stake, but it is clear that Verizon is looking for ways to strengthen its position in the competitive wireless market.
In conclusion, Verizon is considering buying back US Cellular Corp.’s stake in its Los Angeles business if they can agree on a reasonable price. While their market share has been declining, Sampath is focused on implementing strategies to attract and retain customers through pricing increases and additional perks such as bundled streaming plans.
As competition continues to grow in the wireless industry, it will be interesting to see how these negotiations unfold and what impact they will have on both companies’ positions within the marketplace.
