USM estimated to surge more than 7% after selling part of its spectrum licenses to Verizon (VZ.US) for $1 billion
USM's stock rose sharply after the company announced it would sell a large amount of spectrum assets to Verizon (VZ.US). As of Friday's close, USM's stock rose 7.22% to $62.95. The company's stock has risen about 55% since the beginning of this year.
The company said on Friday that it would sell some spectrum licenses to Verizon for a total of $1 billion. In addition, the company has reached agreements with two other mobile network operators to sell other spectrum licenses.
USM's CEO Laurent Therivel said in a statement on Friday: "We are pleased that the value of the remaining licenses will be fully realized, and more importantly, that these agreements with multiple mobile network operators ensure that these spectrums will be available to consumers across the country." He added: "We will continue to take advantage of opportunities to monetize the remaining spectrum assets not included in today's announcement."
These transactions were one of the company's goals this year, aiming to monetize spectrum not included in its planned sale to T-Mobile (TMUS.US). The company said the completion of these transactions also depends on the completion of its transaction with T-Mobile.
T-Mobile announced in May that it would pay about $2.4 billion in cash and assume about $2 billion in debt to acquire most of USM's wireless operations and about 30% of its spectrum assets, covering multiple bands. The transaction is expected to be completed in mid-2025.