Sprint Nextel May Get Takeover Bid: Report

Shares of Sprint Nextel (S Quote) surged Monday on a report that Deutsche Telekom (DT Quote) was close to bidding for the flagging wireless carrier.

The Wall Street Journal reported that a bid for Sprint from Deutsche Telekom was at a preliminary stage and management could walk away before making an offer, according to people close to the deal. If Deutsche Telekom were to acquire Sprint, which has a market capitalization of $22 billion, it would propel its T-Mobile unit to the top wireless position in the U.S.

Sprint was lately up 60 cents, or 7.6%, to $8.49, while Deutsche Telekom was off 1.1% at $17.91. Rival AT&T (T Quote) was flat in early trading, and Verizon (VZ Quote) was off 0.1%. ...