Iliad Maverick Niel Takes Wireless Disruptive Drive to U.S.
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To get from the owner of a sex-chat service to one of France’s richest men, Xavier Niel has made a few bold gambles. His latest move, a $15 billion cash bid for control of T-Mobile US Inc., is his most audacious yet.
Niel’s Iliad SA said yesterday it offered $33 a share for almost 57 percent of T-Mobile, a wireless provider five times larger than the French outfit. While the approach was rebuffed by T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom AG, it sets up a clash between Niel, 46, and fellow billionaire Masayoshi Son, who is working on a competing bid of about $40 per share.