MetroPCS Shares Jump Before Paring Gains

MetroPCS Communications Inc. (PCS), which agreed in October to merge with Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE)’s T-Mobile USA business, saw its stock jump the most in three months today.

MetroPCS shares rose as much as 5.7 percent to $10.09, the biggest gain since Oct. 2, before drifting down to close at $9.73. The stock has declined 2.1 percent this year.

The Richardson, Texas-based company had been the center of deal discussions with at least eight companies before the agreement with T-Mobile, raising the possibility that someone will offer a counterbid to the T-Mobile offer. Chief Executive Officer Roger Linquist said last month that MetroPCS shares were undervalued.

While Linquist said he was focused “100 percent” on the T-Mobile deal, he expected additional mergers to happen in the industry. “Consolidation has to happen at some point,” Linquist said in an interview at the time.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nick Turner in New York at nturner7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net