Deutsche Telekom Hasn’t Pursued Other Options for T-Mobile USA - Businessweek

Sept. 1 (Bloomberg) -- Deutsche Telekom AG hasn’t prepared any alternative scenarios for its T-Mobile USA unit if a $39 billion sale to AT&T Inc. falls apart, a management board member said today.

Managers led by Chief Executive Officer Rene Obermann were meeting with Deutsche Telekom’s supervisory board yesterday when they heard the U.S. Justice Department sued to block the deal, Niek Jan van Damme said in Berlin. Obermann, who had previously demonstrated confidence that the transaction would be approved, was taken by surprise, said a person familiar with the matter, asking not to be identified because the meeting was private.

Deutsche Telekom shares slumped 7.6 percent in Frankfurt trading yesterday, erasing 3.1 billion euros ($4.5 billion) in market value. The Bonn-based company said it will join AT&T in contesting the Justice Department’s complaint in court. The transaction is the biggest for Obermann, 48, since he became CEO at Europe’s largest telephone company in 2006.

via businessweek.com