Deutsche Telekom (Pink: DTEGY) and Metro PCS Communications (NYSE: PCS) have agreed to merge in a bid that could create the No. 4 U.S. mobile carrier.

The move would allow T-Mobile USA, of Bellevue, Wash., a unit of Deutsche Telekom to fold into Metro PCS, of Richardson, Tex., in a new company called T-Mobile. The new company would remain public, allowing the German company to sell it 75 percent share over time.

Last year, Deutsche Telekom tried to sell T-Mobile to AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), the No. 1 telecommunications carrier, in a deal that collapsed after the U.S. Justice Department opposed it on antitrust grounds.

Shares of Metro PCS, which rose 18 percent on Tuesday, rose another 1 percent to $13.74, up 17 cents, in pre-market trading.

To contact the editor, e-mail: