French telecom giant turns to Google, Microsoft for amped-up T-Mobile bid

by  

Laura Lorenzetti

Iliad’s unexpected $33 a share offer for 57% of the wireless carrier was quickly rejected.

Iliad is ready to come back to the bargaining table in its bid for T-Mobile  TMUS 2.02%  — and it’s calling in reinforcements.

The French telecom giant is reaching out to large tech companies like Google  GOOG -0.39%  and Microsoft  MSFT -0.24%  to join it in its campaign to buy a majority of the U.S. wireless carrier, according to a report in the New York Post.

Iliad made an unexpected $33 a share offer for 57% of T-Mobile over two weeks ago. The wireless carrier quickly rejected the offer, saying it was “inadequate.”

Now Iliad is looking to beef-up its bid with a tech partner.

Buying into a wireless carrier could be an excellent move for the likes of Google. It would give the company spectrum that could be used for more than cell phone calls, such as streaming television through the Internet.

Direct access into wireless spectrum would help tech companies compete against cable as well as help avoid additional fees when it comes to content delivery, essentially providing a ready communications platform to expand their product — and advertising — reach.