Sprint Said to Eye MetroPCS Bid to Rival T-Mobile Offer

Sprint Nextel, the third- largest U.S. mobile-phone carrier, is in the early stages of evaluating a counter offer for MetroPCS Communications to top Deutsche Telekom’s bid to combine it with T-Mobile USA, said three people familiar with the matter. Sprint is crunching the numbers and holding talks with its advisers to weigh the feasibility of a higher offer, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the talks are private. The Overland Park, Kansas-based company could decide as early as next week whether to pursue an offer, two of the people said.