Boston, MA 10/14/2013 (wallstreetpr) – The slow down in the U.S. economy requires corporate thinking outside the box. Perhaps this is why AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is eying the European telecoms market. However, in this regards, its investors are waving a “NO” sign.
There are two issues which scare investors into entering the Europe telecoms industry. First, there is the increasing competition pressure in the market which may not be viable for an investment. Second, investors seem to be worried about the complex regulatory policies in the region. On these two grounds, and perhaps the unspoken more, investors are opposing T’s entry into Europe.
But are the investors right? Well, the coming weeks may offer the answer to this question. As for now, it remains that the number two wireless carrier in the U.S. is eager for a stake in Europe. The company is not seeking to go it alone; instead, it’s seeking out an acquisition deal in the Europe’s mobile carriers such as Vodafone, Telefonica and EE.
Bringing the kind of high-speed wireless service available in the U.S. into the Euro-continent will effectively improve the European network business, lead to high wireless revenue. And this is the kind of idea on the mind of T’s CEO Randal Stephenson. The wireless carrier operator is looking for someone who shares this idea in then 28-member country Eurozone.
While investors would prefer not to touch Europe telecoms market even with a ten-foot rod, Stephenson believes in transforming the region’s awkward regulations to clear investment hurdles.
The financial part of T’s acquisition stake in Europe’s telecoms platform has not been revealed, however, for any major deal, the company must post revenue of $128.7 billion this fiscal year. But how fast can T modify its policy to meet the variant and seemingly awkward regulatory rules in the Europe’s telecoms industry? Analysts say that this may take quite some time, several years maybe.
In the market, T has a capitalization of around $180.31 billion as of Monday, October 14, 2013.
