It is doubtful that US operator Sprint Nextel will make a counter bid for smaller rival MetroPCS, according to a Reuters report citing three people familiar with the matter. MetroPCS has been under offer since the beginning of October when Deutsche…
It is doubtful that US operator Sprint Nextel will make a counter bid for smaller rival MetroPCS, according to a Reuters report citing three people familiar with the matter.
MetroPCS has been under offer since the beginning of October when Deutsche Telekom’s US subsidiary T-Mobile USA agreed a reverse merger with the pre-pay operator.
Meanwhile Sprint is under offer from Japanese group Softbank, and the US$20.1bn deal is set to give the US operator a substantial war chest which it could use to finance acquisitions.
However, according to the people familiar with the matter, Sprint believes that bidding for MetroPCS at this point would complicate the regulatory review of its merger with Softbank.
Yet Sprint remains interested in US consolidation and may reconsider a bid for MetroPCS following regulatory approvals, the people said.
Sprint declined to comment on the report.
Last month Sprint acquired PCS spectrum licences and over half-a-million customers from the predominantly rural operator US Cellular for US$480m.
In a recent note New Street Research’s Jonathan Chaplin said he did not expect Sprint to make a counter offer for MetroPCS before its shareholder vote on DT’s offer.
“We would view this as a positive catalyst; however, we now think this is less likely,” he said.
Sprint and Softbank expect their deal to be completed by mid-2013.
MetroPCS has said it expects its reverse merger with T-Mobile USA to close in the first half of next year.
