We've been around this rumor pretty much since Palm started looking competitive again, so take it for what you will -- but a bunch of fat cats down on Wall Street have been going ape today over renewed "chatter" that Nokia might be taking an interest in acquiring Palm. Palm's share prices are up well over 5 percent on the day, though we wouldn't be the least bit surprised if there was some behind-the-scenes manipulation going on here -- an acquisition would make less sense now than ever with suitors on the hook for $2 billion or more, a hefty sum even for a giant like Nokia, never mind the fact that they've still got two smartphone platforms of their own in the mix. Licensing webOS is being floated as a possible alternative to an outright Palm purchase -- but we're having such an exceedingly difficult time picturing a 5800 running webOS that we'll put this one on ice until we get the joint press release.

Wireless acquisitions tend not to be the most straightforward, easy-to-finalize business dealings in the world, and indeed, it's been almost a year to the day since AT&T announced that it intended to scoop up regional carrier Centennial to the tune of $944 million. Since then, thousands of pounds of red tape have been slashed and the deal has finally been sealed, meaning that Centennial stores will be fully rebranded in 100 US locations by January of next year, while the company's service in Puerto Rico will continue to carry the legacy brand through to mid-2010. For its part, AT&T plans to deploy 3G at "more than 100" Centennial cell sites and expand 3G coverage at 100 others, so it's a mutually beneficial relationship -- though we'll have to wait for feedback from old Centennial customers bearing the brunt of the transition before we start high-fiving.

[Thanks, Zachary]

Eerily mirroring the situation with T-Mobile in the UK, disgruntled Deutsche Telekom shareholders are apparently now turning their attention to the company's US outpost, now that the British woes are on the fast track to resolution thanks to a tie-up with Orange. The Financial Times is reporting that the bell isn't tolling quite yet for T-Mobile USA -- key players are still on board with the company's plan to get back into the game with an accelerated 3G rollout, which means that alternative strategies aren't actively being considered right this second. Word has it that the clock has been set for mid-2010, though, at which point red ink on the balance sheet is going to mean a more drastic change in direction -- something like a merger with Sprint or a move to transform the carrier into an ultra-value brand concentrating on prepaid service with a possible MetroPCS or Leap / Cricket buy. What color do you get when you combine magenta and yellow, anyway?

The default BlackBerry browser has long been laughably sad, but it looks like things are about to get better: RIM's just acquired Torch Mobile, the developers behind the Iris mobile browser. If you'll recall, Iris is a well-received WebKit-based browser for Windows Mobile that offers tabbed browsing, touch, and a skinnable UI -- and we hear it does a pretty good job rendering pages as well. Of course, since it's Windows Mobile-only at the moment it'll be a while before BlackBerry fans actually see any results from this acquisition, but it's nice to see RIM taking some big steps to address what's become a major shortfall with the platform -- and hey, maybe that extra time is what it'll take to add the promised full Flash and Silverlight support to the system. Yep, lots of solid potential here -- now if only RIM would build in proper IMAP support, we'd be all set.

[Via MobileTechWorld, thanks Ike]

Canadian telecom infrastructure giant Nortel is in the process of being disassembled piece-by-piece as stakeholders look to recoup their losses, and RIM -- noble knight in shining armor that it is -- wanted to do its part to help keep some of the company in Canada by offering about $1.1 billion US for Nortel's CDMA and LTE operations plus "certain other...assets." Noble gestures aside, it makes a lot of sense that RIM would want to start controlling more of its end-to-end technology stack by getting into the infrastructure game, and Nortel's CDMA and LTE gear are the best fit for that -- not to mention likely some of the most promising cash cows among Nortel's businesses over the coming several years. Alas, it seems that Nortel itself gummed up the works by requiring that RIM not bid on any other Nortel assets for a period of one year, something RIM can't seem to get over. Says co-CEO Jim Balsillie, "RIM is extremely disappointed that Nortel's world leading technology, the development of which has been funded in part by Canadian taxpayers, seems destined to leave Canada and that Canada's own Export Development Corporation is preparing to help by lending $300 million to another bidder" -- in other words, "we really think this should stay in Canada, and you're making it difficult." The company remains interested if Nortel is willing to hear it out, but really, is it a huge deal that they not be able to buy any other Nortel businesses for a year?

There's a lot of posturing and ego-inflating at the very highest levels of the US' wireless industry; AT&T had been the biggest provider until Verizon swooped in and bought Alltel, and we imagine that the new number two has been plotting its counterattack ever since. Of course, this kind of endless tit-for-tat acquisition game is an Alien vs. Predator-style "whoever wins, we all lose" scenario, since the end result is inevitably less competition and more Big Wireless (we just coined that term, and yes, you're free to use it). Anyhow, the popular buzz today is that AT&T is taking a serious look at Leap Wireless -- which owns the Cricket brand, the regional that's offering $40 / month unlimited -- on account of both companies mysteriously canceling appearances at a pair of investment conferences over the next week. It's mega-speculative at this point, but the move would certainly make sense considering the overwhelming popularity of cheap unlimited plans right now and AT&T's presumed desire to get back in the king's throne, wouldn't it?

Virgin Mobile's sundry networks around the globe are a curious hodgepodge of locally-owned and Virgin-led ventures; in the States, for example, a bunch of random companies have skin in the game, including Sprint and SK Telecom. Up in Canada, the MVNO began life as a 50 / 50 joint venture between Bell and Virgin -- and Bell has now agreed to snap up Virgin's stake in the firm for CAD $142 million, which works out to about $121 million. To make sure the brand stays around for a good, long time to come, Bell has also announced that it has secured an "exclusive, long-term" licensing deal with Virgin to use the Virgin Mobile marque. It sounds like Bell has every intention of continuing to operate Virgin Mobile as a separate entity, though it'll combine some retail efforts and work to streamline operations by jointly acquiring handsets and the like. Considering that Bell's about to flip the switch on its HSPA network, it seems like this could end up working out swimmingly for Virgin subscribers up there.

[Via MobileSyrup]

In order to get the FCC to agree to Verizon's massive acquisition of Alltel -- the US' 5th-largest carrier -- it had to agree to some pretty serious concessions, including divestitures in a whole slew of markets to ensure that the competitive spirit remained intact. The "transaction" (as Verizon calls it) closed on January 9, and the resulting mega-carrier was given until May 9 -- a week from Saturday -- to finish spinning off the required markets. Well, as we all know, companies this large aren't known for their agility, and sure enough, Verizon is asking for just a little more time to dot its i's and cross its t's. A "Request for Extension of Management Period" has been filed with the FCC on behalf of the companies asking for another 60 days, which means the divested markets would be up and running outside of Verizon's control by July 8 of this year. Verizon blames "the sheer size and complexity of the divestitures coupled with the current economic conditions" for the request, but seriously, can't they just throw this all up on eBay for, say, a 5- or 7-day auction and be done with it? No? [Warning: PDF link]

So, how does one successfully snatch away market share from Telstra and Optus? If you're Hutchison or Vodafone, you merge! Announced today, two of Australia's smaller operators have decided that an equal joint venture would be the best approach to moving on up, and while they aren't suggesting that the current economic conditions influenced the decision, many analysts are suggesting that the tie-up could help the newly formed VHA fend off adverse effects from slowed spending on mobile communications. Once together, the combined group will have a local market share of around 26 percent, and Hutchison Australia's current chief executive, Nigel Dews, has been chosen to lead the new venture. Under the agreement, VHA will market its products and services under the Vodafone brand, though it will retain exclusive rights to Hutchison's "3" brand in The Land Down Under.

[Via MobileBurn]

Following a good half year of courtship while the regulatory miscellany ran its course, Verizon's finally ready to take the plunge and call this $5.9 billion deal done. The combined juggernaut will amass a staggering 78 million subscribers, putting it roughly 3 million ahead of its closest rival, AT&T, though it'll do so at the cost of assuming some $22.9 billion in Alltel debt. Ultimately, the merger means some positions at Alltel headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas will get axed -- but hey, AT&T Mobility HQ's just a stone's throw away in Atlanta, so Verizon's headcount loss could ultimately be AT&T's gain.

[Via Phone Scoop]

Man, this one has been a bumpy ride, and oddly enough, it's not even over. Well, it's over, but not over. The back-and-forth over whether or not BCE would be bought out has come to an abrupt halt, as auditor KPMG "determined that the company-to-be wouldn't pass a solvency test required as a condition of closing the deal." On the table was a $42.75-a-share cash offering by a group led by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, but all that's lost now. According to BCE Acquisition Group: "Because KPMG has concluded that a required test for the solvency opinion was not met, this mutual condition to completion of the acquisition could not be, and was not, satisfied." Here's where things get wonky; BCE is now vigorously attempting to procure a $1.2 billion "breakup fee" that the Teachers group doesn't agree with. We're still waiting to see if BCE will initiate litigation, but you can bet said Teachers organization ain't scared.

[Via mobilesyrup]

Yep, it's a done deal. On the same day Nokia chose to unveil its new flagship N97, the outfit also announced that it had "completed its offer to acquire software company Symbian Limited." As of now, "all conditions to Nokia's offer to acquire Symbian Limited have been satisfied and it has received valid acceptance of greater than 99.9% of the total Symbian shares that Nokia did not already own." Nokia's not saying much else about the changeover just yet, but we are told that every last Symbian employee is expected to wear a Nokia badge come February 1, 2009.

This one's been a long time in the making, but the deal is finally done. Clearwire and Sprint Nextel have gleefully announced that the transaction to combine their next-generation wireless internet businesses is complete, and beers are on the two of 'em this evening. On the real, the agreement dictates that Sprint hand over all of its 2.5GHz spectrum and WiMAX-related assets (including XOHM) to Clearwire; additionally, Clearwire has received a $3.2 billion cash infusion from Comcast, Intel, Time Warner Cable, Google and Bright House Networks. Details beyond that are scant, though we are told that the terms "originally announced on May 7, 2008" are the ones being abided by, and the new company will retain the Clearwire name and its Kirkland, Washington headquarters.

Earlier in the summer, some words from Verizon chief Ivan Seidenberg led us all to believe that he wanted his firm to take full control of Verizon Wireless. Now, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao has made clear that his outfit had precisely zero plans to sell its 45% stake in VZW, though he did mention having an "open mind" about the future of said stake. Just in case that wasn't definitive enough for ya, he stressed that staying put was "the best thing" for Vodafone right now, and given just how many Storms are flying off of US shelves, we can't stand to disagree.

[Via mocoNews]

We've been hearing about a possible SK Telecom-Sprint tie-up since July of 2007, but if either firm ever hoped to actually tie the proverbial knot -- well, let's just say that ship has sailed. Given the weakening economy and the general tendency to resist taking risks right about now, the Korean giant has dropped its plans to partner with Sprint in any form or fashion. In related news, Sprint is looking to hop on the quickly expanding layoff bandwagon, but given its humongous Q3 loss, we suppose that's not totally illogical. We're told that the carrier is offering "voluntary buyout packages" to an unspecified number of employees, which is far more awesome than the "thanks, now get the hell out of here" line that's being handed down by so many other firms. Crazy times, we tell you.

[Via Boy Genius Report]