Deutsche Telekom CEO Says T-Mobile USA Merger Is Option

Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Officer Rene Obermann said a merger of the T-Mobile USA division is an option, while ruling out revisiting a complete sale after its fallout with AT&T last year.

“We do not exclude any option for the T-Mobile unit in the U.S., also not a merger,” Obermann told shareholers today at an annual meeting in Cologne, Germany. “A complete sale is unlikely. You understand that I can’t say more in public on T- Mobile USA.” The comments are the clearest yet on Deutsche Telekom’s plan to hold onto the asset -- at least partially -- five months after a $39 billion proposed sale of T-Mobile to AT&T collapsed because of regulatory resistance. Deutsche Telekom is discussing a merger of T-Mobile with MetroPCS, with other options including an initial public offering, people familiar with the matter said this month. “We don’t see any value creation by T-Mobile USA if it stays as a stand-alone company,” said Alexandre Iatrides, an analyst at Oddo & Cie. in Paris. “The alternatives would be a merger or some kind of network-sharing agreement with MetroPCS or Sprint Nextel.”