Why MetroPCS Shares Plunged Momentarily

Although we don't believe in timing the market or panicking over market movements, we do like to keep an eye on big changes -- just in case they're material to our investing thesis.

What: Shares of MetroPCS (NYSE: PCS  ) plunged momentarily by nearly 12% today on reports that Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) would be holding off on any potential counterbid to acquire the smaller carrier.

So what: Sprint had previously made an offer to buy the company in February, and Sprint's board had been reportedly meeting in order to consider a counterbid in light of the announced merger with T-Mobile. Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company, feels good about its offer but said it would cross any possible counterbid bridge when it comes to it.

Now what: Sprint CEO Dan Hesse has been predicting industry consolidation recently, and shares had fallen when T-Mobile and MetroPCS announced their love to the world, since that meant Sprint wasn't participating. Sprint is waiting for some critical details that will be included in regulatory filings on the deal's structure before proceeding with any possible offer. That might take a month or two to be filed, but then Sprint would likely have upwards of three months to step forward before investors vote on the T-Mobile offer.

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