The rumors of T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom entering into a deal with MetroPCS are back again. Today's report comes to us from Bloomberg, which claims to have been told by "people with knowledge of the matter" that Deutsche Telekom is near the completion of a deal with MetroPCS, which the publication says will help to reinforce T-Mobile here in the U.S. It's said that an announcement could come as soon as tomorrow, when DT's board is expected to meet to green light the agreement.
Rumors of a Deutsche Telekom-MetroPCS tie-up have been floating around for some time, with the most recent report (besides today's, obviously) coming just a few days ago. While the details on the potential deal between these two companies are still light, the good news is that if an announcement is indeed going down tomorrow, it won't be long before all is revealed. That also means that there isn't much time left to submit your ideas for a clever nickname for a T-Mobile-MetroPCS entity (T-PCS? metroMobile?). Of course, this is all still very much a rumor at this point, so it's entirely possible that October 3 could come and go without any announcement from Deutsche Telekom or MetroPCS and our creative nicknames will go to waste. We'll just have to wait and see.
UPDATE: Now Reuters has chimed in with its own report on this matter, claiming that three sources have told it that Deutsche Telekom is in "advanced talks" to merge T-Mobile and MetroPCS. One of the tipsters said that "a deal is close." Another claimed that an announcement could come today, while the third source said that a press conference is scheduled for tomorrow.
UPDATE 2: As noted by AllThingsD, Deutsche Telekom has confirmed that it is indeed in talks with MetroPCS "with the aim of operating its subsidiary T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS within one company." However, the company added that there are still "significant issues" that have yet to be finalized and that the conclusion of the deal isn't clear. DT's full statement:
“Deutsche Telekom is holding talks with the listed company MetroPCS with the aim of operating its subsidiary T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS within one company in which Deutsche Telekom would hold the majority of shares. The talks are at a stage where significant issues have not yet been finalized, contracts have not yet been signed and the conclusion of the transaction is still not certain.”
UPDATE 3: And now MetroPCS has also confirmed that it's in talks with Deutsche Telekom to be combined with T-Mobile here in the U.S. However, Metro is quick to add that there are no guarantees that a deal will result from the talks, and it says that it doesn't plan to discuss the situation any further until some sort of conclusion is reached. The carrier's statement:
"MetroPCS today confirmed that it is in discussions with Deutsche Telekom regarding an agreement to combine T-Mobile USA and MetroPCS. There can be no assurances that any transaction will result from these discussions, and the Company does not intend to comment further unless and until an agreement is reached."
Via The Verge, Bloomberg, Reuters, AllThingsD, PRNewswire
