It’s no secret that T-Mobile US parent company Deutsche Telekom has been interested in selling T-Mo in recent years, including the attempted sale to AT&T and rumors of a Comcast deal. DT’s feelings appear to have changed for now, though.
Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges has said that his company isn’t looking to sell T-Mobile US right now. “We are not in the mood of selling the business,” Hoettges told a group of investors this week. “We are not in the mood of: ‘Oh where is the partner we need?’”
That said, DT is keeping an eye on the regulatory situation in the US with President-elect Donald Trump. “We compare a lot of variables. With Trump, the regulatory environment might change,” Hoettges explained. “Everybody is expecting this. At least the chance is bigger than it was under the Democrats.”
“All of this is helping us to be open and try to improve our situation,” the DT CEO said. “I am not afraid about whether a (pure) mobile player can survive in this environment. If there are any options, we are going to consider.”
While Deutsche Telekom has been motived to sell T-Mobile US in the past, the Un-carrier’s recent successes seem to have made DT feel a little less urgent. T-Mo blew by Sprint to become the No. 3 carrier in the US a little more than one year ago, and as of the most recent earnings reports, T-Mobile has nearly 10 million more customers than Sprint (69.4 million vs 60.2 million). This success gives DT the ability to wait until the time is right for a sale if it wants to, and in the mean time, T-Mo continues to grow.
Source: Reuters