Deep Read: „We give them nothing!!!“: Mutmaßliche SMS von Tim Höttges könnte Milliarden kosten – Telekom schweigt

In a hearing room at Cravath, Ropemaker Street 1, Deutsche Telekom's CEO Timotheus Höttges provided sworn testimony in January 2025, for the first time revealing details that have remained undisclosed to the German public. The testimony centered around a significant deal from his tenure and a seemingly innocuous SMS message sent on May 16, 2020.

The message, in capital letters, read, "We give them nothing!!!", allegedly directed to his confidant Thorsten Langheim, who is now the USA head of the corporation. The intended recipients were the minority shareholders of T-Mobile US, the primary subsidiary of the Telekom group, which now holds over half of the shares. In spring 2020, T-Mobile merged with Sprint, which was then controlled by the Japanese tech conglomerate Softbank.

This merger fundamentally altered the power dynamics in the US mobile communications market and secured substantial profits for both parties. However, six years later, this revelation has become a central piece of evidence in a lawsuit that could cost the Telekom group billions. Furthermore, accusations have surfaced against prominent Softbank executives, who are alleged to have engaged in insider trading using company funds.

The Handelsblatt has investigated the background, followed a court conference call, and evaluated dozens of documents, including internal records and several SMS messages exchanged between the involved parties. These details shed new light on one of the telecommunications industry's most significant mergers.