Deutsche Telekom will regain majority of T-Mobile, CEO promises

Tim Hoettges

German telco Deutsche Telekom is confident that it will secure majority ownership of its US business T-Mobile.

The US telco merged with smaller operator Sprint in Spring 2020, but the deal saw Deutsche Telekom’s stake in T-Mobile diluted to 43%. It currently has a shareholder agreement to vote former Sprint owner Softbank Group’s remaining 9% stake.

Speaking at an investor presentation, CEO Tim Hoettges said that the company is “willing to get the majority in the timeframe that we have laid out,” with its proxy voting rights agreement expiring in 2024.

The CEO said that T-Mobile will return capital to investors via a share buyback, with this leading Deutsche Telekom to raise its stake.

Elsewhere, the operator has launched legal action against the Indian government. Deutsche Telekom is suing the government for US$135 million over the 15-plus-year ISRO/Antrix/Devas S-band legal drama. Deutsche Telekom claims that it is owed US$101 million plus interest for its 19.62% ownership of Devas Multimedia, with the Indian company awarded US$1.3 billion by an International Chamber of Commerce tribunal in 2017.