US Cellular Needs to Close the T-Mobile Deal and Deploy Capital Wisely

US Cellular agreed to sell its wireless operations and about 30% of its spectrum licenses to T-Mobile in May 2024. The firm subsequently reached agreements to sell an additional roughly 35% of its spectrum holdings to Verizon and AT&T. These agreements follow a path we've long prescribed for US Cellular: carving up its assets among the large wireless companies in a way that maximizes value while minimizing the risk regulators step in. However, the firm has yet to define plans for the large cash pile it will ultimately be left with. This creates a risk that shareholders will fail to realize the value these transactions will unlock, which we estimate could be around $75 per share in total.