A while back, T-Mobile and Metro PCS were all over the news after announcing plans to merge their businesses. Things went quiet on the matter for a while, but now the merger is officially complete, with the two companies becoming one under the new name T-Mobile US.
Making things truly official, the companies have began trading on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker "TMUS." The market opened at 9:30 EDT at $16.34, and quickly dropped to $16.25 per share, though this is likely standard market fluctuation rather than a reflection of the new branding causing a stir its share price.
"The combination of T-Mobile and MetroPCS creates an even stronger disruptive force in the U.S. wireless market," said John Legere, President & Chief Executive Officer of T-Mobile US. This might be true, but of course, T-Mobile was just forced to shift its marketing statements away from claims of "no restrictions."
The two companies would have combined for $24.8 billion in revenues last year, and management of the new company expects that number to grow another three to five percent each year. The two carriers currently have about 43 million subscribers in total when combined.
Even though the two known brands are under one parent company, T-Mobile US will operate them as two separate entities with the eventual goal of moving everything to one common network infrastructure.
The new company, which is headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, will have John Legere as its CEO, and the former MetroPCS vice chairman and chief financial officer J. Braxton Carter will take the CFO position.