Through one of its subsidiaries, AT&T Inc. will acquire privately held Wayport Inc. for $275M in cash.
The acquisition will allow AT&T Wi-Fi to expand to nearly 20,000 domestic hotspots, including airports, and more than 80,000 locations worldwide, including roaming locations. AT&T customers and others who need to connect on the go will be able to use hotspot locations served by Wayport, including select Wyndham, Marriott Vacation Club and Four Seasons hotels, HealthSouth and Sun Healthcare locations, and McDonald’s restaurants.
“We’re seeing exponential growth of Wi-Fi-enabled devices – such as smartphones – combined with a continued dependency on 24/7, anytime, anywhere Internet access across business and consumer market segments,” says John Stankey, president and chief executive officer of AT&T Operations. “Now is the right time for AT&T to affirm our commitment to Wi-Fi leadership. By acquiring Wayport, we’re giving consumers more ways to stay in touch and building a more robust network management solution for businesses. We’re bringing ready access to the nation’s leading Wi-Fi, wireless and IP networks – on a global scale.”
The transaction is expected to close as early as the fourth quarter of this year.
“AT&T’s premier capabilities in both the enterprise and consumer industries will take Wayport’s strength in delivering Wi-Fi solutions over converged networks to an entirely new level,” says Dave Vucina, chairman and CEO of Wayport. “AT&T’s ability to reach and service tens of millions of customers will greatly expand the value we currently bring to our customers. As part of AT&T, we’ll bring new and better solutions to our customers on a global scale, with greater reach and more innovative services.”
