SK Telecom mulling Sprint acquisition

Weeks after selling off its U.S. MVNO service Helio to Virgin Mobile USA, Korean mobile giant SK Telecom is reportedly mulling a return to the U.S. market by acquiring beleaguered Sprint Nextel. According to cable news channel CNBC, talks between the two firms are complicated by SK Telecom's market capitalization--at $15 billion, the operator is roughly half the size of Sprint Nextel, necessitating private equity financing if a deal is reached. Forbes cites an unnamed Seoul analyst who speculates it is more likely SK and Sprint will instead form a strategic partnership because of the financial disparity between the two operators as well as the unfavorable U.S. market outlook. In November, The Wall Street Journal reported that Sprint rejected a $5 billion investment from SK Telecom and private equity firm Providence Equity Partners that would have installed former Sprint executive chairman Tim Donahue as CEO of the company.

For more on the Sprint/SK Telecom rumors:
- read this Forbes article

Related articles:
Sprint loss widens despite data revenue growth
Sprint sued over unauthorized mobile content fee