Wireless shakeup: T-Mobile to merge with MetroPCS

Deutsche Telekom, parent company to T-Mobile USA, said Wednesday it has struck a merger deal with prepaid regional carrier MetroPCS.

T-Mobile's Micro SIM card.

(Credit: T-Mobile USA )

According to the agreement, MetroPCS shareholders will get $1.5 billion in cash and a 26 percent stake in the combined company. Deutsche Telekom will own the remaining 74 percent of the company.

The deal requires regulatory approval from the Federal Communications Commission and U.S. Department of Justice. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2013.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this transaction with MetroPCS, which enhances Deutsche Telekom's position in the expanding U.S. wireless market," said René Obermann, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Telekom said in a statement. "The T-Mobile and MetroPCS brands are a great strategic fit - both operationally and culturally. 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 commit... [Read more]