LITTLE ROCK, Ark.-Alltel Corp. reported that its newly acquired Western Wireless International Austria Corp. subsidiary has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Austrian business Tele.ring Telekom Service GmbH to Deutsche Telekom AG subsidiary T-Mobile Austria GmbH for $1.6 billion.
Alltel noted the deal’s price was subject to downward adjustments if certain operating performance targets are not met and must be approved by the European Commission and Austrian telecommunications regulators.
T-Mobile said the deal will bolster its position as Austria’s second-largest operator with nearly 3 million customers and control of 38 percent of the Austrian wireless market. Tele.ring is the country’s fourth-largest carrier with nearly 1 million customers.
Western Wireless announced last month that it had agreed to sell its Irish wireless operation Meteor Mobile Communications Ltd. to a subsidiary of Eircom Group plc for about $500 million. Western Wireless International still has wireless interests in several other countries, including Slovenia, Georgia, Bolivia, Haiti, Ghana and Cote d’ Ivoire.
