Report: Deutsche Telekom considering bid for Sprint Nextel
Deutsche Telekom AG is considering a bid to acquire Sprint Nextel Corp., The Wall Street Journal Reported Monday, quoting people it said were familiar with the discussions.
By Agencies |
FRANKFURT: Deutsche Telekom AG is considering a bid to acquire Sprint Nextel Corp., The Wall Street Journal Reported Monday, quoting people it said were familiar with the discussions.
Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom did not immediately comment on the report. Were it to make such a deal, it would catapult its T-Mobile wireless unit to the top spot in the US market, a lucrative move.
In its report, The Wall Street Journal said deliberations were at ``a preliminary stage and management may very well turn away,'' according to the people it quoted.
Any bid, the paper's sources said, ``could still be weeks, or even months away.''
Sprint Nextel is the third-biggest provider of cell phone services in the US and has a market capitalization of approximately US$22 billion (euro14.2 billion). AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless are the top two providers there.
T-Mobile is No. 4 in the US market, but the unit has proved key to Deutsche Telekom, given that just slightly more than 50 percent of its annal sales now comes from markets outside of Germany, its home base. Last year, the company posted sales of euro65.2 billion (US$100.8 billion) worldwide on euro19.3 billion in operating profit.
In 2007, T-Mobile's sales rose to euro19.3 billion (US$29.8 billion) compared with euro17.1 billion in 2006. It wrapped up its US$1.6 billion (euro1.04 billion) deal to buy SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. in February.
Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom did not immediately comment on the report. Were it to make such a deal, it would catapult its T-Mobile wireless unit to the top spot in the US market, a lucrative move.
In its report, The Wall Street Journal said deliberations were at ``a preliminary stage and management may very well turn away,'' according to the people it quoted.
Any bid, the paper's sources said, ``could still be weeks, or even months away.''
Sprint Nextel is the third-biggest provider of cell phone services in the US and has a market capitalization of approximately US$22 billion (euro14.2 billion). AT&T Inc. and Verizon Wireless are the top two providers there.
T-Mobile is No. 4 in the US market, but the unit has proved key to Deutsche Telekom, given that just slightly more than 50 percent of its annal sales now comes from markets outside of Germany, its home base. Last year, the company posted sales of euro65.2 billion (US$100.8 billion) worldwide on euro19.3 billion in operating profit.
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In 2007, T-Mobile's sales rose to euro19.3 billion (US$29.8 billion) compared with euro17.1 billion in 2006. It wrapped up its US$1.6 billion (euro1.04 billion) deal to buy SunCom Wireless Holdings Inc. in February.
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