Hasta La Gadget!

MetrosPCS shareholders have filed a lawsuit to block a merger with T-Mobile USA, claiming that the MetroPCS board is “serving its own financial interests.” The lawsuit is against T-Mobile and its parent company Deutsche Telekom in addition to MetroPCS’ board of directors and CEO. According to the current deal in place, the shareholders will receive $1.5 billion cash and a 26% stake in the company, with the German Deutsche Telekom holding the other 74%.

The lawsuit was filed in Dallas. Says the shareholders:

“The process leading to the proposed acquisition was tainted by conflicts, tilted towards T-Mobile and driven entirely by the board and company management, who together control 15.4 percent of PCS’ outstanding stock and seek liquidity for their illiquid holdings.”

Specifically, the lawsuit states that the deal was designed to discourage other bids so that the merger was guaranteed for Deutsche Telekom. Says TMONews, the shareholders are going after the companies for corporate waste, gross mismanagement, unjust enrichment, and the alleged breach of fiduciary duty. “PCS’ officers and directors will receive millions of dollars in special payments,” the complaint states.

The deal between MetroPCS and Deutsche Telekom was struck earlier this month. Although in place, it still requires regulatory approval from the FCC and Department of Justice, which will delay the closing until the middle of 2013. T-Mobile’s CEO John Legere responded to the complaints with a statement that the deal was necessary in order to remain competitive with the big name carriers, such as Verizon, and is “about driving growth.”

[via TMONews]

MetroPCS shareholders sue to block T-Mobile merger is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

After a bunch of rumors, last week the merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS became official. At the time, T-Mobile executives were saying that the merger would close sometime in the first half of 2013, and today, T-Mobile’s parent company Deutsche Telekom is getting a little more specific about that window. In an interview with German newspaper Boersenzeitung (as reported by Reuters), Deutsche Telekom CFO Timotheus Hoettges said that money probably won’t change hands until the second quarter of next year.

“The transaction is not likely be carried out until the second quarter of 2013,” Hoettges said. The deal, which will be a reverse merger with MetroPCS buying out T-Mobile, will end with Deutsche Telekom owning 74% of the US-based budget carrier and MetroPCS getting a cool $1.5 billion. Current MetroPCS customers have a little while to wait before they’re taken under T-Mobile’s wing, though, as we’re finding out today that the merger won’t close for a few more months at least.

It’s easy to see why Deutsche Telekom wants to buy MetroPCS, as doing so will give T-Mobile the boost it needs here in the US. After the merger is complete, T-Mobile will have an edge when it comes to competing against AT&T and Verizon, the two biggest players in the US mobile market. This merger also means that Deutsche Telekom can try to expand its US efforts without keeping all of its eggs in one basket – if it doesn’t work out, the company can just sell off MetroPCS and keep T-Mobile going.

In other words, T-Mobile and Deutsche Telekom are in for a few very exciting months. MetroPCS is very popular when it comes to budget carriers, so it should prove to be a good buy for Deutsche Telekom. We’ll see if that’s the case soon enough, as it shouldn’t be too much longer before MetroPCS becomes a part of T-Mobile and, by extension, Deutsche Telekom. Stay tuned.

T-Mobile, MetroPCS merger may not close until Q2 2013 is written by Eric Abent & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Yesterday we reported that word on the street was that Japanese carrier, Softbank, was looking to purchase a majority stake in Sprint which was worth about $12.8 billion. Now it seems that there are reports which has suggested that Softbank is not only eyeing Sprint, but possibly MetroPCS as well. It seems like everyone wants a piece of MetroPCS lately, what with Deutsche Telekom having made an offer for T-Mobile USA to acquire MetroPCS, and with the rumors that Sprint could be interested in MetroPCS as well.

While the Sprint/MetroPCS deal has yet to be official, Softbank has confirmed that they are in talks with Sprint although the deal has yet to be finalized. When asked about the reports of their interest in MetroPCS, Softbank’s spokesperson said that they had no comment on the matter. In any case it looks like Softbank could be on a buying spree as they announced earlier this month that they would be buying their domestic rival, eAccess for a whopping $2 billion. Either way it will be exciting to see what sort of changes Softbank can introduce to Sprint or MetroPCS should the deal go through.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Softbank might just purchase a stake in Sprint, Japan’s Softbank reportedly looking to purchase majority stake in Sprint for $12.8 billion,

It is not very often that a perceived smaller company or entity buys over a bigger one, but that is somewhat the case with MetroPCS and T-Mobile whose merger was approved last week. Sure, both of them are mobile carriers in their own right in the US, so what does this merger mean for you, the end consumer? Folks who are on MetroPCS will seem to have the proverbial upper hand here so to speak, where T-Mobile’s Chief Technology Officer, Neville Ray claims that both T-Mobile and MetroPCS have moved toward a similar next-generation LTE network on the AWS 1700 band, meaning T-Mobile has every intention to expedite plans so that MetroPCS subscribers will be able to be “transferred” over to T-Mobile’s smartphones in due time.

Ray said, “This isn’t about integrating these two networks. It’s about moving MetroPCS over to a bigger and stronger converged network.” In a nutshell, T-Mobile will soon sell phones with MetroPCS branding, although these will still run on T-Mobile’s network. They have targeted two years for a full user migration, with plans to decommission the CDMA network in order to free up additional spectrum for LTE.

By Ubergizmo. Related articles: Sprint reportedly looking to outbid T-Mobile on MetroPCS deal, T-Mobile and MetroPCS merger reportedly approved by the executive boards of both companies [Updated],

MetroPCS could be the target of a bidding war, with wireless industry whispers that Deutsche Telekom’s bid to merge the carrier with T-Mobile USA may face a challenge from another US network. Although the agreement with Deutsche Telekom has already been announced as in incipient merger, a trio of sources speaking to Bloomberg claim ailing rival Sprint is weighing a counter-bid that could be submitted as early as next week.

The CDMA carrier’s board is meeting within the next two days to decide whether to chase a deal of its own, though there’s no guarantee that one will be submitted. A company spokesperson declined to comment – as did those from MetroPCS and Deutsche Telecom – though another source claims the German firm is already prepared to fire back with a new offer, and “would consider  better terms if necessary,” should Sprint weigh in.

It’s not apparently the first time Sprint has considered snatching up MatroPCS. Rumors earlier in the year suggested the acquisition had been considered, but was shelved after the board decided the price was too rich for its liking.

However, an upward change in share price has left the carrier looking more solid, and – along with the threat of T-Mobile USA swelling into a more significant challenger – a deal may now be something Sprint can’t afford to opt out of. Together, T-Mobile USA and Metro PCS would have 42.5m subscribers and sales of around $24.8bn.

A deal between the two CDMA carriers, though, might make more sense than with GSM-based T-Mobile USA. There would be significant network infrastructure to be done in order to combine the MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA’s service, though the upside is the promise of an LTE network with claimed data speeds of double what Verizon is currently offering.

T-Mobile MetroPCS deal faces Sprint counter-offer threat is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.