According to a proxy statement filed with the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) by MetroPCS, the merger with T-Mobile USA has been in talks much longer than first assumed. A deal with Deutsche Telekom (T-Mobile's parent company) for a merger with T-Mobile USA began just 2 days after it failed to sell the company to AT&T. This means that the merger talks between the companies began all the way back in December of 2011.
MetroPCS reports that it was in talks with "several" wireless carriers for possible merger, buyout and spectrum licensing deals before finally settling on terms with Deutsche Telekom. Aside from its attempt to sell to Sprint earlier in the year, MetroPCS was also nearly acquired by an unnamed company that is a current roaming partner. The company also attempted twice to buy different chunks of spectrum from different satellite companies.
It seems there was quite a lot going on in the wireless industry while everyone was still confused about the fall-through of AT&T and T-Mobile's merger. Surely makes us wonder what else is in the works as we speak.
Source: WSJ; SEC; Via: FierceWireless
