Deutsche Telekom Can Sell T-Mobile Before Share Lock-Up Ends

Deutsche Telekom AG (DTE), the German phone company that completed a deal this month to enlarge its U.S. business, said it has the option to sell the asset to a buyer before an 18-month share lock-up period expires.

The company wouldn’t be restricted from selling if a third party made an offer for T-Mobile US, Chief Financial Officer Timotheus Hoettges told shareholders at the annual meeting in Cologne, Germany. In its agreement to merge the fourth-largest U.S. wireless carrier with MetroPCS Communications, Deutsche Telekom pledged not to sell shares of the listed carrier on the stock market for 18 months. The German company holds a 74 percent stake in the company, which has a market value of $14.2 billion. “There is an exception clause in the contract regarding the lock-up,” said Hoettges, who will take over as Deutsche Telekom’s chief executive officer next year. “We are in a position to sell all shares in one go.”