Sprint PCS affiliates merge in $900 million deal

DENVER, Colorado, United States—Sprint PCS network partners AirGate PCS Inc. and iPCS Inc. agreed to merge their operations in a US$900 million deal.
The deal, which has been approved by both companies’ board of directors, calls for AirGate to issue 13.5 million shares of its common stock valued at approximately US$800 million and assume US$97 million of iPCS debt. The combined company, with iPCS operating as an AirGate subsidiary, will cover approximately 14 million potential customers in the upper Midwest and Southeast, and serve more than 300,000 subscribers.