After Federal regulators stomped out any hope of AT&T snapping up fourth-placed U.S. carrier T-Mobile, the scrappy magenta network has been making some bold moves in the hope of a comeback -- and those plans now include merging with MetroPCS.
Reuters is reporting that the board of MetroPCS has approved a merger with T-Mobile USA on Wednesday morning. T-Mo parent company Deutsche Telekom confirmed yesterday that the company was in talks with MetroPCS, and the deal now appears to be done.
According to a report in German newspaper Financial Times Deutschland, the new combined entity will be jointly owned by Deutsche Telekom with 74 percent and MetroPCS with 26 percent.
MetroPCS will also receive $1.5 billion in cash, and the two companies have expressed interest in having the new company listed on the stock exchange. The deal is believed to be part of an exit strategy for Deutsche Telekom, whose T-Mobile USA brand has struggled to keep up against larger rivals AT&T, Verizon and Sprint.
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