Deutsche Telekom is reportedly planning to sell the T-Mobile US for at least $35 per share.
The German-based telecommunications giant discussed with the senior managers of the company a way to come up with a proper valuation of T-Mobile during their regular strategy meeting. According to sources of Bloomberg, details of the meeting will be kept confidential.
It was previously reported that T-Mobile rejected French provider Iliad's $15 billion cash offer for half of the company's shares at $33 per unit. Iliad threw the offer in an attempt to counter T-Mobile's plan to merge with Sprint. Now that Deutsche Telekom is willing to sell the shares, a spokesperson for Iliad refused to comment on another potential bid.
Deutsche Telekom spokesman Philipp Kornstaedt also declined to comment about the plan. However, he echoed the company's current chief executive Timotheus Hoettges statement that it will be selling T-Mobile to a company that can offer more than its actual valuation.
The review of T-Mobile's actual market value will attract more bidders to buy shares from the company. Potential buyers, including Dish Network Corp., are expected to announce their bid soon. Although T-Mobile has gathered more users this year under the supervision of CEO John Legere, its parent company will be at risk if it holds on to T-Mobile. Deutsche Telekom may be unable to support T-Mobile anymore as it needs to increase its competition against other market players such as Verizon Communications and AT&T.
Early this month, Sprint cancelled its merger plan with T-Mobile amid opposition by competitors arguing that a Sprint-T-Mobile merger will create an impossible competition in the market. If the merger materialized, it would have cost Sprint at least $32 billion and would undoubtedly create a stiff competition against other players in the market
On a positive note, Marketwatch reported that the news boosted T-Mobile's U.S. shares by 2.7 percent closing at $30 per share.
