Rich Tehrani over at TMCNet is reporting that Google may be looking at buying mobile phone network operator Sprint.
Although it would be easy to scoff at the rumor (and it’s still very much in the unlikely bracket) as we know Google’s ambitions have no bounds. America’s 5th largest company is already trying to buy mobile spectrum in the United States, and is considering a similar move in the United Kingdom. Google also has its own mobile phone operating system on the way. The acquisition of Sprint may be unlikely, but so would the three moves listed here have been to anyone talking about Google 12 months ago.
I do like Matthew Ingram’s argument though relating to the constant Google takeover rumors:
it’s because Google has effectively become the saviour of everything. What was once a tiny company with a simple service that everyone used and/or liked has become a globe-spanning colossus with a market value bigger than the gross domestic product of a medium-sized country — and so the implication is that Google can do anything.
There’s a whole lot of old-world businesses with declining market caps that could become Google targets, particularly as Google starts to hit growth barriers across its core business lines. Car manufacturers are cheap at the moment (you can run Google ads on a screen in the car) and the Airlines are in a spot of bother as well. OK, maybe too far fetched…at least for another 12 months anyway :-)