US Justice Dept allows T-Mobile, MetroPCS merger to proceed
updated 03:50 pm EST, Wed March 6, 2013
US DOJ allows 30-day antitrust waiting period to expire unhindered
The merger between T-Mobile and MetroPCS has been given the go-ahead to proceed by the United States Department of Justice. A 30-day waiting period, put in place by antitrust laws, has expired without the DoJ offering any objections to the merger, which would see the combined Deutsche Telekom-owned carrier and MetroPCS further embed T-Mobile's position as the fourth largest US carrier.
While the DOJ's approval of the merger is a good sign for the two carriers, other government regulatory bodies still need to review proceedings. The Federal Communications Commission and the Committee on Foreign Investment will pass judgement on the merger, and if there are no obstacles in the way, the decision then rests with the shareholders. The MetroPCS board has unanimously recommended that stockholders vote for all proposals relating to the merger on April 12th, with a warning that failing to vote or abstaining would count as a vote against the merger.
It is expected that, once shareholder approval has been secured, the two companies would formally join together shortly afterwards, with the 9 million MetroPCS customers being migrated over to T-Mobile by the end of 2015.
