Nov 19, 2019 - Technology

Boost Mobile founder wants to buy back company from Sprint

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

A Sprint on store on 14th Street in Manhattan. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Boost Mobile founder Peter Adderton said he wants to buy back the company, which Sprint is selling per an agreement to secure regulatory approval of its merger with T-Mobile US.

Why it matters: Adderton says he's willing to pay up to $2 billion for Boost, a rich premium to the $1.4 billion that Sprint agreed to sell its entire prepaid wireless unit for to Dish Network. No word yet on how he'd finance such a bid.

Bonus: After selling Boost in 2004, Adderton founded an MVNO called Amp'd Mobile, which raised over $370 million before going under. Not an extraordinary amount of funding by today's standards but, at the time, it led several VC news cycles.

The bottom line: "Adderton has been outspoken that the [Sprint/T-Mobile] combination would harm lower-income consumers who depend on prepaid phones... [and] has also questioned Dish’s commitment to serving Boost customers, as the satellite company has focused its priorities on building a next generation 5G wireless network." — Sheila Dang, Reuters

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Rebecca Falconer
Updated 8 mins ago - World

Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai arrested under national security law

Media tycoon Jimmy Lai at the Next Digital offices in Hong Kong in June. Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images

Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Jimmy Lai has been arrested for "collusion with foreign powers," said Mark Simon, an executive at the tycoon's media firm Next Digital Monday morning local time.

Why it matters: He was arrested under the national security law imposed by China in late June that gives Beijing more powers over the former British colony. Lai is the most prominent person arrested under the law, which prompted the U.S. to sanction Chinese officials, including Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam, over Beijing's efforts to strip the territory of its autonomy.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios

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Rebecca Falconer
2 hours ago - Health

New York reports new low positive coronavirus test rate

People physically distancing at tables in New York City's Times Square in June. Photo: Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) announced Sunday 515 people, or 0.78% of those tested, returned a positive reading for COVID-19 the previous day.

Why it matters: It's the lowest single-day positive rate since the start of the pandemic. It's another sign that the state that was once a global coronavirus epicenter is curbing the spread of the virus. "Our daily numbers remain low and steady, despite increasing infection rates across the country, and even in our region," Cuomo said in a statement. "But we must not become complacent: Everyone should continue to wear their masks and socially distance."

Go deeper: Cuomo says all New York schools can reopen for in-person learning