Sprint Came Close To Buying MetroPCS, But Board Walked Away

Are the consolidating years behind us when it comes to U.S. wireless carriers? Perhaps not. According to CNBC and The Wall Street Journal, Sprint -- America's third largest wireless company -- was considering a major deal that would have it paying $8 billion to acquire MetroPCS. MetroPCS may not be a huge name like AT&T or Verizon, but it's still a solid minority in the wireless world, and it puts a major dent in Sprint's prepaid subscriber count. A load of MVNOs use Sprint's network for their services, so picking up MetroPCS would've made them a really strong player in that market. According to the reports, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse was all for it, okaying the deal. But reportedly, Sprint's board of directors rejected the move just hours before it was to be made official.


Why? Sources tell the WSJ that the "timing wasn't right." It seems that the proposed acquisition had been on the table for some time now, but it's unclear how things weren't called into question earlier. It seems a little strange to have the CEO onboard and the board not onboard with only hours before the announcement. We're guessing that there's a now-useless press release floating around in some inbox right now with all of the gory details, but alas, it won't be shared in the near future, if ever.