[MrMastodonFarm]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/...95P0OG20130626

Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) has offered to buy Canadian telecom startup Wind Mobile and is in talks to acquire Mobilicity, as it seeks to challenge Canada's three big wireless providers, sources familiar with the deals said on Wednesday.

One of the sources said Verizon had last week presented a tentative offer of $600 million to $800 million for Wind Mobile, with final pricing subject to due diligence. Another source cited Verizon's talks with Mobility, a rival startup.

Both sources declined to be named because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

The U.S. telecom leader, which sold its minority stake in Telus Corp (T.TO) in 2004, is looking to re-enter the Canadian market to boost its growth prospects.

For a relatively small sum, the potential deals would allow Verizon to re-enter Canada's high margin wireless business, placing it in a good position ahead of a government auction of spectrum, or wireless frequencies, said Barclays analyst Amir Rozwadowski.

Stocks of Canada's three biggest telecoms players, which control about 90 percent of the market, tumbled following the news on Wednesday, as the potential deals could reshape the Canadian wireless market with much more competition.

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Verizon declined to comment. Last week, Chief Financial Officer Fran Shammo however, confirmed publicly that Verizon was interested in entering the Canadian market.

A Wind spokeswoman and a Mobilicity spokesman both declined to comment.

Any new entrants will seek to clarify their ownership before September 17, the deadline to apply for the 700 megahertz spectrum auction due to start on January 14. Auction rules preclude talks between bidding parties after an initial expression of interest.

Verizon being in control of Wind (and Mobilicity) for the upcoming Spectrum Auction (now in January, pushed back from November) would be huge.