LOS ANGELES — AT&T Inc. said Friday that it has agreed to acquire Leap Wireless International Inc., the pre-paid cellphone carrier that operates under the Cricket brand, for about $1.19 billion in cash or $15 a share.
The purchase gives the nation's No. 2 cellphone carrier a leg-up in serving customers who prefer not to have lengthy contracts. Leap's Cricket service has 5 million subscribers. The deal also gives AT&T the right to use Leap's unused airwaves — also known as spectrum — to expand its network.