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EDIT: Looks like it's already done...
From PC Mag:
Here.
From PC Mag:
T-Mobile Confirms Plans to Merge With MetroPCS
The rumors are true. T-Mobile and MetroPCS this morning confirmed that they will combine forces.
T-Mobile's parent company, Deutsche Telekom, announced that it has signed an agreement to "combine" T-Mobile and MetroPCS. "This transaction will create the leading value carrier in the U.S. wireless marketplace, which will deliver an enhanced customer experience through a wider selection of affordable products and services, deeper network coverage and a clear-cut technology path to one common LTE network," Deutsche Telekom said in a statement.
The boards of Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS have approved the transaction. Under the deal, MetroPCS will make a cash payment of $1.5 billion to its shareholders for a 26 percent ownership in the combined company; Deutsche Telekom will own 74 percent.
When the deal is complete, the combined firms will be known simply as T-Mobile, though Deutsche Telekom said it will operate T-Mobile and MetroPCS as separate customer units, led by Jim Alling, currently COO of T-Mobile, and Thomas Keys, currently president and COO of MetroPCS.
John Legere, the new CEO of T-Mobile, will serve as the president and CEO of the combined firm. J. Braxton Carter, now CFO and vice chairman of MetroPCS, will be CFO.
Company headquarters will be in Bellevue, Washington though it will "retain a significant presence" in Dallas, Texas.
The firms said the combined company will have about 42.5 million subscribers.
"The T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands are a great strategic fit – both operationally and culturally," René Obermann, CEO of Deutsche Telekom, said in a statement. "The new company will be the value leader in wireless with the scale, spectrum and financial and other resources to expand its geographic coverage, broaden choice among all types of customers and continue to innovate, especially around the next-generation LTE network. We are committed to creating a sustainable and financially viable national challenger in the U.S., and we believe this combination helps us deliver on that commitment."
"MetroPCS and T-Mobile have the same network strategies and LTE networks in the same spectrum bands, which we believe will accelerate the deployment of advanced services to our customers," said Roger D. Linquist, chairman and CEO of MetroPCS. "Ultimately, this combination will create a stronger wireless provider nationally with broader value offerings to better serve our combined customers and drive shareholder value."
MetroPCS and T-Mobile did not mention specific post-merger wireless plans or devices, except to say that the combined firms will offer "a wider selection of attractive, competitively priced plans to better serve the marketplace, including contract, no-contract monthly, SIM-only, pay-as-you-go and mobile broadband services."
The companies expect the deal to close in the first half of 2013, subject to regulatory approval. The merger is not likely to face the same scrutiny that AT&T and T-Mobile were subjected to last year during their merger efforts given that a combined T-Mobile/MetroPCS will not create as big a wireless behemoth as a combined AT&T/T-Mobile.
Back in February, T-Mobile announced plans to roll out its 4G LTE network in 2013, thanks in part to the Advanced Wireless Services (AWS) spectrum it gained from the failed AT&T merger deal as well as a $4 billion investment.
The effort has been dubbed T-Mobile's "Challenger Strategy" and is expected to reach the "vast majority" of the top 50 markets. The carrier has been installing new equipment at 37,000 cell sites and refarming spectrum in preparation for the LTE launch.
Recently, the Federal Communications Commission approved a deal whereby T-Mobile and Verizon Wireless will purchase and swap spectrum in the AWS band.
MetroPCS was the first carrier to launch 4G LTE in the U.S. back in September 2010 via the Samsung Craft phone. Recently, it unveiled the first commercially available Voice Over LTE (VoLTE) service in the U.S. and a new handset that will support it. For more, see Who Leads Wireless Tech Race? MetroPCS.
Here.
Deutsche Telekom in Talks to Merge T-Mobile With MetroPCS
Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE) said it’s in talks with MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS) to combine their U.S. wireless businesses, giving T-Mobile USA the greater scale it needs to compete with Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. (T)
The plan includes putting the U.S. operators into one company in which Deutsche Telekom will hold the majority of shares, the Bonn-based company said in a statement today, confirming a Bloomberg report. Deutsche Telekom’s supervisory board is scheduled to meet in Bonn tomorrow to approve the transaction, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the plan is confidential.
Deutsche Telekom Said to Near Deal With MetroPCS on T-Mobile USA
MetroPCS shares jumped as much as 26 percent to the highest level in 14 months in New York. Deutsche Telekom has been considering a deal with MetroPCS to create a U.S. operator that would be publicly listed, people familiar told Bloomberg in May. T-Mobile USA, with 33.2 million customers at the end of June, or a third of each of market leaders Verizon Wireless and AT&T, is seeking to stem client losses it has suffered partly because it doesn’t have the rights to sell Apple Inc. (AAPL)’s iPhone.
The transaction will involve multiple steps including a stock swap, said one of the people.
“The potential synergies are so high, and this would resolve the huge issue that is T-Mobile USA with a real long- term solution,” said Alexandre Iatrides, an analyst at Oddo & Cie in Paris who has a neutral recommendation on Deutsche Telekom stock.
‘Not Certain’
Shares of MetroPCS were up 18 percent at $13.57 at the close in New York, giving the company a market value of $4.9 billion. Deutsche Telekom closed 1.3 percent higher at 9.74 euros on the Frankfurt exchange after surging as much as 4.4 percent. The former German phone monopoly has a market capitalization of 42.1 billion euros ($54.4 billion). Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) slumped 5.4 percent to $4.90 in New York.
“The talks are at a stage where significant issues have not yet been finalized, contracts have not yet been signed and the conclusion of the transaction is still not certain,” Deutsche Telekom said in its statement. “The board of management and supervisory board of Deutsche Telekom have therefore not yet taken the resolutions necessary for such a transaction.”
MetroPCS also confirmed in a statement today that it is in discussions with Deutsche Telekom over a combination with T- Mobile.
Prepaid Focus
T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS could generate cost savings worth $1.2 billion to $1.7 billion a year, Iatrides said. An official announcement may lift Deutsche Telekom’s share price by 1 euro, he predicts.
A combination with Richardson, Texas-based MetroPCS would give T-Mobile USA, with its headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, an additional 9.3 million prepaid customers.
AT&T failed to take over T-Mobile USA last year for $39 billion amid opposition by regulators. In the past two weeks, Deutsche Telekom named John Legere, the former chief executive officer of Global Crossing Ltd., to head the U.S. division and agreed to sell the rights to operate T-Mobile USA’s cellular towers for $2.4 billion.
A deal with MetroPCS would be the latest attempt by Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Officer Rene Obermann to revive T-Mobile’s fortunes more than a decade after the German company entered the U.S. market. T-Mobile USA accounts for about 25 percent of Deutsche Telekom’s revenue as the parent struggles to return to growth in eastern European countries such as Greece.
T-Mobile USA, the fourth-largest U.S. carrier, has lost 2.76 million contract customers, or more than 10 percent of its subscriber base, in the eight quarters through June. The company has positioned itself as a more affordable alternative to Verizon Wireless, AT&T and Sprint Nextel.
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this will be interesting how the cell phone market plays out
