Deutsche Telekom, the majority owner of T-Mobile, wants to unload its stake in the US wireless carrier. But only at the right price. The German carrier is willing to negotiate for the sale of T-Mobile if a bid values the company at $35 per share or more, Bloomberg said Thursday,citing unnamed sources. That price isn’t substantially higher than last month’s offer from French telecom company Iliad to buy a majority stake at $33 a share, which T-Mobile rejected.
Deutsche Telekom AG is willing to negotiate a sale of its T-Mobile US Inc. unit, the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the U.S., if an offer values the business at $35 a share or more, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Senior managers of Deutsche Telekom discussed T-Mobile’s valuation at a strategy meeting in Berlin today, said the person, who asked not to be identified because the deliberations are confidential. T-Mobile, which rejected a $33-a-share bid by France’s Iliad SA this month, hasn’t received an increased offer, the person said. Deutsche Telekom’s valuation of T-Mobile opens the door for an improved bid from Iliad or new proposals from potential suitors such as Dish Network Corp. after Sprint Corp. this month withdrew from talks to buy the unit. While T-Mobile has added millions of customers under Chief Executive Officer John Legere, holding on to the business carries risks for its parent. T-Mobile must compete with AT&T Inc. and Verizon Communications Inc. in spectrum auctions later this year and in 2015 and keep up spending to upgrade its network.
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