Canada’s recently announced AWS-3 spectrum auction will give a chance to some of Canada’s smaller carriers to secure spectrum to deploy LTE capabilities. WIND Mobile was quick to applaud the rules of the auction but it still likely needs to secure the funding necessary to participate and acquire the specrum needed to expand its network. Now comes word via Bloomberg that Providence Equity Partners could provide that necessary backing.
The report does not specify how much backing Providence would provide and for how much of a stake in the company. WIND Mobile is likely looking for a sizeable investment though as it needs funds not only to purchase the necessary spectrum but also upgrade its network to support LTE. The latter alone would require between CA$400 and CA$500 million.
WIND Mobile which has some 735,000 subscribers at last count is unlikely to get any backing from VimpelCom, the international company that currently holds a 65 percent equity in it. It wrote down its investment in the Canadian carrier down to zero back in March. The move came after it decided at the last minute not to fund WIND Mobile’s participation in the 700MHz spectrum auction that took place at the beginning of the year.
The report adds that it’s not known if the company could also be looking to acquire struggling Mobilicity which has been looking for a buyer for some time now.
Providence is a U.S.-based company that is part owner of Canadian data center operator Q9 Networks.
Source : Bloomberg