Deutsche Telekom is reportedly in talks with Comcast, about a potential sale of T-Mobile US. The company remains in talks with number two DTH player Dish, as reported. The German incumbent’s management consider Comcast, the largest US cableco, to…
Deutsche Telekom is reportedly in talks with Comcast, about a potential sale of T-Mobile US. The company remains in talks with number two DTH player Dish, as reported.
The German incumbent’s management consider Comcast, the largest US cableco, to be the most attractive buyer because its stronger balance sheet would enable it to buy all of T-Mobile’s stock, Germany’s Manager Magazin reported.
Analysts have also named America Movil, Altice and Iliad as potential buyers.
Other “long-shot” acquirers could include Tier 2 fixed-only players such as Centurylink, Windstream and Frontier, a US sector adviser told TelecomFinance. Verizon could potentially take a look, while Sprint could run the regulatory risk of combining the country’s number three and four players, the adviser continued.
In the meantime, the market has debated the likeliest targets for Comcast, which abandoned its planned US$45bn purchase of Time Warner Cable in April following regulatory resistance.
According to a Financial Times report, DT approached Comcast and several others as alternatives to Dish. One source was cited saying the German telco wants to pressure Dish founder and CEO Charlie Ergen into offering more attractive terms.
That said, talks between Dish and T-Mobile are now at an advanced stage, with a deal sealed within weeks if they can agree on a valuation, according to another source cited by the FT.
Deutsche Telekom has declined comment, while Comcast and Dish were not immediately available.
