Deutsche Telekom announces €5 billion T-Mobile Netherlands sale

Deutsche Telekom has agreed a deal to sell its Dutch business for €5.1 billion.

The operator has announced a deal to sell T-Mobile Netherlands to a consortium backed by Warburg Pincus and Apax Partners. 

The announcement comes after Bloomberg that a deal could be announced this week after collecting final bids from the consortium and others last week. Other reportedly interested parties include Apollo Global Management Inc. and Reliance Industries Ltd, the business of Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani.

Deutsche Telekom worked with Morgan Stanley on the sale, which becomes one of the largest European telco sales of the year.

Upon closing of the transaction, Deutsche Telekom will receive approximately €3.8 billion net cash proceeds from the transaction. Cash proceeds to Deutsche Telekom are net of proceeds to 25% shareholder Tele2 and other debt items. They include the repayment of Deutsche Telekom’s shareholder loans to T-Mobile NL.

Deutsche Telekom entered the Dutch mobile market in 2000 with a joint venture that eventually became T-Mobile Netherlands three years later when the operator bought out its partners Belgacom SA and Tele Danmark. The mobile operator was considered to be on the chopping block in 2015, but Deutsche Telekom decided to keep the business before merging with Tele2 AB’s operations in 2019. 

The Dutch business currently has around 700,000 broadband customers.

Thorsten Langheim, Board member for USA and Group Development Deutsche Telekom AG, and responsible for T-Mobile NL, said: “Through our dedicated value creation plan and T-Mobile NL’s unique challenger mind-set, we have successfully transformed T-Mobile NL into the fastest growing MNO in Europe. I am proud of what the entire Dutch Team lead by Soren Abildgaard has achieved through their relentless efforts and clear customer focus and I am thankful for the valuable support of Johan Andsjö as the leading member in the advisory board. In Apax and Warburg Pincus we are convinced we have found the perfect partners for T-Mobile NL to take the company to the next level of growth and continue the FMC Challenger Strategy.”