RadioShack is mulling several strategic options, including looking for a buyer in a deal that could be worth as much as $3 billion, according to a report in the New York Post.
The report, citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter, said investment bankers have started talking to private-equity firms about a possible sale, though the talks are extremely preliminary. Another possibility mentioned by the report is a merger with mobile retailing rival Best Buy. Other options include a share buyback or even an acquisition of its own.
"This is all about handheld devices," an unnamed banking source told the Post. "A whole new wave of these products are coming out and they're going to break the monopoly of the carriers."
Representatives from RadioShack and Best Buy declined to comment.
RadioShack has focused more on mobile retailing recently in its efforts to compete with Best Buy. The company said last week that it will begin selling Apple's iPhone nationwide.
In other mobile retailing news, U.K. mobile retailer and broadband provider Carphone Warehouse split into two publicly trade companies. One, called TalkTalk Telecom, is the largest residential broadband company in the U.K. The other, which will retain the Carphone Warehouse name, is made up of the company's core mobile retailing business as well as its joint venture with Best Buy.
For more:
- see this NY Post article on RadioShack
- see this WSJ article (sub. req.) on Carphone Warehouse
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