Deutsche Telekom Puts Formal Offer to Merge With T-Mobile on Hold, Keeping Plan Open
Key Facts
Deutsche Telekom has refrained from making a formal offer for a potential merger with T-Mobile US for now, a temporary retreat from the deal path that does not mean an ongoing merger process has been halted, according to a Bloomberg report. The report cited people familiar with the matter as saying opposition from the works council was one reason for not proceeding with an offer. The decision came amid investor concerns and regulatory hurdles surrounding the idea. The German company had been considering creating a holding company to make a stock offer for the shares of both companies, Reuters reported in April. Putting the formal offer on hold leaves open the possibility of returning to the plan, rather than closing the matter for good.
The discussion dates back to a proposal to combine the German parent company with its U.S. unit, in which it holds a majority stake. Reuters estimated in April that the resulting company could have a market value of around 300 billion dollars and more than 200 million mobile subscribers. The estimated scale would make it the world’s largest telecommunications group by market value, according to the report. But these figures were cited as estimates of a possible outcome, not as an announced value for a deal agreed by the two parties. In September, Reuters said Deutsche Telekom’s stake in T-Mobile had reached around 54%, and that the U.S. company was the largest contributor to profits at the German group.
The idea faced opposition within the U.S. company and from shareholders in the German group. Reuters reported in September, citing a report published by Semafor in July, that executives at T-Mobile in the United States had told Deutsche Telekom they no longer supported the merger. The report linked their position to concerns about shareholders and the prospects for regulatory approval. Reuters also reported that Elliott Investment Management had urged Deutsche Telekom to abandon the potential merger and consider other ways to boost shareholder value. Among the alternatives Elliott cited was increasing share buybacks, leaving the deal at the center of a dispute between those who favor combining the companies and those calling for other options.
News of the preliminary talks put pressure on both stocks in April. Deutsche Telekom shares fell around 5% on April 22 after news of the talks emerged, while T-Mobile US shares fell around 3.5% in afternoon trading that same day, according to Reuters. In the latest EL7 data included here, Deutsche Telekom shares, listed under the ticker DTEGY, closed at 27.88 dollars on October 27, 2026. The data provided do not include the session’s high and low prices. The price record covers different dates, so it does not by itself establish that the October close came in direct response to the formal offer being put on hold.