Verizon Makes Offer on Wind Mobile, Sends Shares of Rogers, Telus, and Bell Tumbling

Major US wireless carrier is offering a generous $700 million for Canadian discount carrier Wind Mobile, according to sources cited in a Globe and Mail report. Reuters also supplied a report with a similar valuation.

Interestingly, Wind is not the only company Verizon has eyes for. It’s also in talks with Mobilicity, according to the same set of reports.

Quoth The Globe and Mail:

Verizon’s initial offer for Wind is just one part of a broader strategy to potentially enter the Canadian market. Verizon has also held talks in recent days with stakeholders of Mobilicity, another small struggling startup carrier, and is also considering whether to participate in the federal government’s auction of wireless licences. In total, analysts have put the price tag for getting into Canada at between $1-billion and $2-billion.

As a result of the news, shares in all three of Canada’s major carriers were sent tumbling. Rogers, Bell, and Telus each fell between 5% and 9% in trading today. And acording to analysts, it’s unlikely these stocks would fully recover if Verizon successfully acquired one or more of Canada’s startup carriers.