12:00 PM EDT, 05/28/2024 (MT Newswires) -- CFRA, an independent research provider, has provided MT Newswires with the following research alert. Analysts at CFRA have summarized their opinion as follows:

TMUS has entered into an agreement to purchase much of United States Cellular's (USM 44 **) operations for $4.4 billion, including up to $2 billion in assumed debt. The deal includes 4 million customers and a chunk of its spectrum licenses. The deal, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, is expected to close in mid-2025. USM will hold onto about 70% of its spectrum licenses and its portfolio of cell towers. USM stated that it will look to monetize the rest of its spectrum licenses. With USM looking to exit the wireless market, the company will essentially become a tower operator, possibly even converting into a REIT at some point in the future. We see this as a good deal for TMUS, if approved, given the extremely valuable spectrum licenses it would be receiving, extending its network lead over AT&T (T 17 ***) and Verizon (VZ 39 **). We still expect this deal to receive considerable regulatory scrutiny and believe there is a possibility that it could be blocked in its current form.