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Regulatory Agencies Approve T-Mobile MetroPCS Merger

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Today T-Mobile and MetroPCS announced the two companies received all regulatory approvals needed to go forward with a merger.

Yesterday the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States told the two carrier’s parent companies Deutsche Telekom and MetroPCS Communications that it doesn’t see any “unresolved national security concerns” concerning the merger. The approval marked the last regulatory approval the two companies needed to move forward with the proposed merger.

Regulatory approval doesn’t mean the merger is a done deal, however. On April 12, 2013 MetroPCS will hold a special meeting for its stockholders where they will vote to approve the merger. If the vote succeeds the two carriers will move forward with the proposed merger shortly thereafter.T-Mobile MetroPCS

MetroPCS urges its shareholders to approve the merger during the special meeting so the merger can happen.

There are some MetroPCS shareholders who oppose the merger, however. P. Schoenfeld Asset Management (PSAM), which holds a number of shares in MetroPCS, issued a press release opposing the merger. PSAM claims the merger “does not provide full and fair value to PCS shareholders.” The press release also says “There are more attractive options for PCS to consider other than the T-Mobile deal, including continuing on a stand-alone basis.”

It’s not clear if PSAM can sway enough shareholders to oppose the new deal, or it controls enough shares to make the vote fail.

The T-Mobile MetroPCS merger will help both companies expand their network as well as help speed up the rollout of 4G LTE. MetroPCS already has a small 4G LTE network, while T-Mobile will turn on its network this month. If the merger does happen the two carriers will combine their networks by 2015, according to early plans.

The merger will help the new carrier better compete against AT&T and Verizon as well as Sprint, T-Mobile’s closest competitor. Sprint is currently in the process of its own buyout from Japanese carrier Softbank, which will help it grow more quickly.

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