Merger, Not a Sale, Best for T-Mobile Moving Forward

Merger, Not a Sale, Best for T-Mobile Moving Forward:
Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann today said that the company would consider merging T-Mobile USA with another operator, but said that an outright sale is no longer on the table. "We do not exclude any option for the T-Mobile unit in the U.S., also not a merger," said Obermann. But "a complete sale is unlikely." Obermann was speaking to Deutsche Telekom investors at an event in Germany. Deutsche Telekom tried unsuccessfully to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T last year. The acquisition was blocked by government regulators. According to sources cited by Bloomberg, Deutsche Telekom has discussed the possibility of a stock swap with MetroPCS, which would give it ownership of the smaller U.S. provider. It could then merge the two. Deutsche Telekom is also considering a sale of T-Mobile USA's cell towers in a bid to raise more capital.