SK Telecom denies Virgin/Helio merger rumor, calls it “groundless”
Posted by Greg Kumparak on May 12th, 2008 at 05:08 PMLast Thursday, we reported on a rumor that Helio/Virgin Mobile were discussing a possible merge.
SK Telecom’s claiming the rumors a bunch of nonsense. According to a spokesperson for the company, there had not been “any sort of talks” between Helio and Virgin, saying all rumors as such were “groundless” and that they remained “committed to Helio.” In the vaguest statement of the century, she also added that SK Telecom was actively seeking opportunities to expand in the US.
I’m still on the fence with this one, as I’m wary about anything that could potentially cause radical changes to the way Helio does their thing. On one hand, more users and a larger retail footprint is an awesome thing. On the other, I heart Helio.
SK Telecom has big ol’ pockets, with over 50% of Korean mobile customers being SKT subscribers. Their pockets are fat enough to keep Helio afloat as long as they need to to work things out. I’d be incredibly surprised if any of the opportunities they were seeking involved tossing the brand they’ve been working to build.
[Via mocoNews.net]
May 12th, 2008 at 6:26 pm
HA!
May 13th, 2008 at 12:37 am
@ Laci ….. :0)
@ McBride …. SH*T’S WEAK!!!
May 13th, 2008 at 6:56 pm
Mr. Adam… what did McBride say or do for that comment? It’s not like he went around saying “this is gonna happen. helio and virgin WILL merge”. All he did was state some facts based on numbers and what might be IF they merged.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
U dont understand how depressing it was to read his comments. Alsmot making them seem so close to reality. Then to hear this and feel such a weight lifted off my mind. Feels good. He brought it on me, dont defend internet commenting… it’s just opinions, and my opinion is that his comments brought me down. Now we know it’s bs… so his SH*T IS WIZZEAK!!! YEA! Relxax bro, take it easy. Wear your seatbelt.
May 14th, 2008 at 6:09 am
Mr. Adam you act like Helio is your life. I think its time for peter pan to grow up and leave never never land
May 14th, 2008 at 7:55 am
Hmm oh yeah go to moconews.net and see for your self. good ol sk telecom lied about talks with virgin mobile usa….. Virgin confirmed negotiations today. Hmmm i guess you need to put that weight back on.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:44 am
ahhhh-hahahaha… thats awesome. Sorry Mr. ADAM. Looks like its back to contemplating suicide for ya! Seriously you have way too much emotionally invested in Helio. Its actually kind of pathetic.
May 14th, 2008 at 10:24 am
I think Laci and Mr Adam should get married and have lil Helions
May 14th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
omg, it’s not even “negotiations” for anything, it’s just two companies talking about working together. So, Mr. Kevin McBride – you were wrong. You stomped all over this site yesterday trying to make it seem like you’re the ultimate insider with top level information when your constant lack of professionalism betrays you at every turn.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
It’s how I eat, its how I bathe, it’s how I sleep. Helio puts food on my table, i cant say the same for you and your unconnected interest other than being into “gadgets” but i’m on that leven and then some. So for me not to be interested professionaly and a bit emotionally would make me a crap employee.
May 14th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
@ Tj – Werd up.
May 14th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
hmm i guess i shouldnt of said negotations, should of said “prelimanary talks”. Its sad that one day SK denies that there were no sort of talks with virgin and any talks about a merger were “groundless”. Pretty pathetic I say. I have been around the block with these merger deals and “comitments” to the company. Seen MVNO’s come n go. I have sir, invested way to much emotion and money into this company. I have spent more than 50,000 dollars into this company in the last 6 months for them to Deny any sort of talks of a buy out or merger then come to find out they were lying. HMMM TJ you need to learn a little something something about true comitment to your company, not lie about it. Which Sk did.
May 15th, 2008 at 9:18 am
helio is not merging i have good insite!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
May 21st, 2008 at 12:39 pm
rumors are true.
virgin & helio has to decide who will run the company.
helio will probably take over the virgin name.
earthlink still wants a piece of the action.
currently, everything is being put on hold.
one more thing…at least the for the Ocean II
will either be introduce in the next 2-3 months.
it will be thinner, touch screen, still rounded corners,
still dual slider, pantech will manufacture the units,
& it will be also alittle wider for a larger screen.
[colors are still being decided, but don't hold your breath]
R&D are looking to redesign the kickflip.
Heat will probably stick around, but will have colors:
blue, gold, red, & maybe silver or something dual tone.
this under consideration…korean board members are
real conservative & not pushing for colors, however
american complaints are the lack of color to attract female clients.
i was inform of this from the los angeles office insider.
i just needed to give an informed report on the situation
of helio without someone making up rumors.
May 21st, 2008 at 1:47 pm
forgot to mention that R&D has a unit
similar to the samsung u740 ‘alias’.
this is going to be the new flip or clamshell
replacement for the fin. not sure how far
they are in the design process. but the guts
will be like the u740.
June 7th, 2008 at 7:01 pm
And I’m just about to buy my Ocean. Now I can’t decide if I should wait for the Ocean II, or go ahead and dive in. I want my QWERTY phone so badly and I love the Helio Ocean as it is now. I don’t really care for the Touch Screen revolution. Just means that it’s easier to break because you’re always touching it in my opinion. I was trying to call K&M tonight to order my phone. Are they closed on Saturdays?