The Dax group now holds the majority in the successful US subsidiary T-Mobile.
(Photo: dpa)
Bonn Deutsche Telekom has acquired the majority of the shares in the successful US mobile communications company T-Mobile US. Telekom boss Höttges surprisingly announced this “important success” at the beginning of the general meeting on Wednesday in Bonn. Accordingly, the majority was reached last night. Originally, the achievement of this goal was targeted for the summer.
According to the company, the share is now around 50.2 percent. Gaining a majority stake in T-Mobile is an important strategic goal for Telekom. So far, the group has only been able to control and fully consolidate the successful US subsidiary due to a temporary agreement with the Japanese Softbank.
Softbank became a major shareholder after the merger of its Sprint holding with T-Mobile in 2020. Höttges and Softbank boss Masayoshi Son had negotiated the deal in several stages, some of which were dramatic.
Takeover of T-Mobile US weighed heavily on Telekom
T-Mobile is now responsible for more than two-thirds of Telekom sales. The company is currently the most valuable telecommunications company in the world.
In order to achieve the majority of shares, Telekom had to reach its financial limits in recent years because it is heavily indebted and at the same time has to invest billions in network expansion. After the merger with Sprint, she initially owned only 43 percent of the shares.
Otherwise, Telekom boss Höttges focused his speech on Wednesday on the topic of sustainability. He also addressed the future viability of the location. According to his assessment, Germany urgently needs to accelerate the pace of digitization. “Germany and Europe are lagging behind when it comes to digitization,” he said.
This applies to the cloud, to microchips or to artificial intelligence. “In almost all categories we are not world market leaders.” It is not sustainable if Germany lives on the substance. “The ‘Made in Germany’ seal is crumbling. That’s why we have to polish it together.”
The basis of digitization are the networks. “We build them. But we need faster approval procedures. We need digital administration.” Of course, the companies also need to work better together. “Telekom is already in implementation mode.”
More: Deutsche Telekom’s record year builds on T-Mobile’s US success