Sprint reportedly holding off on immediate MetroPCS counterbid

Sprint reportedly holding off on immediate MetroPCS counterbid According to a Bloomberg report, citing sources `in the know' of the proceedings at Sprint, the third-ranking US carrier is apparently waiting for the T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger to take shape, and has thus deferred its plans of an immediate MetroPCS counterbid.

As per the information shared by the unidentified Bloomberg sources, Sprint has decided to hold off the counteroffer it was mulling for MetroPCS, in an evident attempt to scrutinize T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom's plans for its subsidiary's merger with prepaid carrier MetroPCS.

The sources disclosed that even though the Sprint board of directors had held a meeting last week, after Deutsche Telekom announced the proposal of the T-Mobile/MetroPCS merger, the possibility of a counteroffer for MetroPCS will be weighed by Sprint only after it sees Deutsche Telekom's proxy filing.

The proxy filing is typically released by firms a month or two months after the announcement of a deal, and Sprint intends waiting for its release by Deutsche Telekom in a `wait and watch' approach to see how the merger agreement is negotiated.

Noting that Sprint's holding off on an immediate MetroPCS counterbid "could be very useful in future negotiations," New York-based BTIG LLC's analyst Walt Piecyk said: "By waiting, Sprint has been able to remind MetroPCS investors where their stock is headed without a Sprint counterbid."