RICHARDSON, Texas (AP) — The board of MetroPCS is unanimously recommending its shareholders vote in favor of the sweetened buyout offer from Deutsche Telekom AG, the parent company of T-Mobile USA.
Deutsche Telekom said the original offer had T-Mobile contributing $15 billion in debt to the combined company. The new offer announced last week reduces that to $11.2 billion, effectively making the combined company more valuable. Deutsche Telekom also said it would also reduce the interest rate by half a percentage point.
The ownership structure remains unchanged, with 26 percent of shares being held by current MetroPCS shareholders and 74 percent by Deutsche Telekom.
MetroPCS Communications Inc. rescheduled its special meeting for April 24 to give shareholders time to consider the offer. Its stock fell 46 cents, or 4 percent, to $11.06 Monday morning.