MetroPCS shareholders approve takeover by T-Mobile

MetroPCS shareholders on Wednesday approved the company’s acquisition by T-Mobile after T-Mobile sweetened its offer for the nation’s fifth-largest wireless carrier.

The deal was approved after Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company, reduced the size and cut the interest rate on a loan it will provide to the merged company, according to Bloomberg.

With MetroPCS, T-Mobile gains 9 million new prepaying customers and expands its wireless spectrum, allowing T-Mobile to improve the speed and quality of its network, the company said.

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Deutsche Telekom will own 74% of the new company with MetroPCS shareholders owning the remaining stake. The MetroPCS shareholders will also share $1.5 billion in cash.

The acquisition was announced in October and was approved by the Federal Communications Commission last month.

The deal was reached as T-Mobile stopped selling service contracts, becoming the first major carrier to offer only prepaid or month-by-month contracts.

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