Deutsche Telekom Willing to Keep Stake in T-Mobile-Sprint Tie-Up

Kyodo news agency reported that Deutsche Telekom had agreed to a Softbank plan to buy T-Mobile. But sources familiar with the talks told Reuters that while the two sides are keen to get a deal done, a transaction was complicated, including the issue of getting regulatory approval.

Germany’s Deutsche Telekom AG is willing to keep a minority stake in a deal to sell T-Mobile US to Japan’s Softbank, but other details such as price and financing remain to be worked out, according to sources familiar with the situation.

Softbank owns a majority of Sprint, the third largest US wireless carrier. Deutsche Telekom owns 67 percent of T-Mobile, which has a market value of $27.6 billion and is the fourth-largest US wireless carrier.