NEW YORK, May 1 (Reuters) - T-Mobile US Inc sharesrose 3 percent in their debut on the New York Stock Exchange onWednesday, after the company was created by the merger ofMetroPCS Communications and Deutsche Telekom AG's U.S. unit T-Mobile USA.
Shares of the new company opened at $16.38 and had risen to$16.89 after 10 a.m. (1400 GMT), according to a companyrepresentative who was at the New York Stock Exchange.
MetroPCS and T-Mobile USA, whose combined 2012 revenue was$24.8 billion, merged to pool their spectrum resources tocompete better with bigger rivals.
"It's a good debut," said Hudson Square Research analystTodd Rethmeier. "They both had good first-quarter results, so wethink there's more room for upside."
T-Mobile US, the fourth-largest U.S. mobile phone serviceprovider, said it ended the first quarter with about 43 millioncustomers. This compares with 55 million for third-ranked SprintNextel Corp.
MetroPCS shareholders voted in favor of the deal on April 24after Deutsche Telekom, under pressure from activist investors,sweetened the terms.
Under the deal Germany's Deutsche Telekom owns 74 percent ofT-Mobile US. MetroPCS shareholders received $4.06 per share incash plus 26 percent of the combined company. (Reporting by Sinead Carew; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)