T-Mobile Circuit Breaker On French Buyout

Shares of T-Mobile (NYSE: TMUS) were halted on a circuit breaker after climbing more than seven percent after Dow Jones reported that France’s Iliad is bidding for the company.

Sprint (NYSE: S) shares sold off more than five percent on the news. It is rumored that Sprint was looking to take over T-Mobile, bringing their combined size closer to the country’s two giants. Tuesday, Reuters reported reported that a Sprint and T-Mobile merger would occur sometime after September.

Dow Jones notes that T-Mobile’s market cap is more than 50 percent greater than Iliad’s, raising questions as to how the deal would be funded. It is likely a private equity fund would step up with capital.

T-Mobile shares are beginning to pull back. The stock was last trading five percent higher at $32.42. Sprint shares are rebounding and were last down 3.9 percent to $7.46.