Metro merger bid pulled

It’s a sad day for all of us who envisioned a nationwide flat-rate unlimited calling carrier. Without any progress after their initial $4.7 million bid, MetroPCS has withdrawn its effort to acquire Leap Wireless. Executives at Leap thought the bid didn’t accurately reflect its company’s value, but the suits at Metro thought Leap’s perceived value was inflated because of the merger talks. None of that matters now, though, as we’ll see no such merger and no emergence of a fifth national carrier.

MetroPCS said in a statement Thursday that it had “not been able to engage Leap in meaningful negotiations” since making its offer public on Sept. 4.

That sounds like a problem on another level. Does Leap think it can do well enough on its own? While we like the company, we have to disagree with that sentiment. With Boost Unlimited expanding, both Metro and Leap stand to lose a ton of customers. They could band together to become larger than Boost, but at this rate appears that the flat-rate, unlimited war will be a three-way battle.

Execs from MetroPCS didn’t rule out another bid, but it likely wouldn’t be much different than the one they submitted in September. This makes any merger unlikely. We hope this isn’t the beginning of the end for both companies.

[Market Watch]

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