Elliott adquiere una participación en Deutsche Telekom y se opone a la fusión con T-Mobile US

Elliott Management, a prominent hedge fund, has acquired a stake in German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom, complicating the company's plans to merge with its U.S. subsidiary, T-Mobile US, according to sources. The activist fund aims to steer Deutsche Telekom away from the merger and focus on other strategies to boost shareholder value, such as share buybacks.

Deutsche Telekom currently holds a 53% stake in T-Mobile US, a potential deal that would have been the largest in the listed markets. The arrival of the influential investor on Wall Street amid the merger negotiations adds a new obstacle to a deal that was already uncertain. Deutsche Telekom's shares rose 1.5% on Thursday morning.

The idea of a full merger between the two companies raised concerns among investors due to the questionable strategic viability of the operation, according to sources. Some minority shareholders of T-Mobile US were reluctant to expose themselves to European markets, where telecom companies typically trade at lower valuations than in the U.S., adds a source.

T-Mobile executives also fear a negative reaction from investors if an agreement were reached. Any deal would face a difficult approval process, requiring the backing of powerful German unions and political leaders in Berlin and Washington. The German government holds a 14% stake in Deutsche Telekom, while KfW, the state-owned bank, owns another 14%.

For Deutsche Telekom's CEO, Tim Huttges, the full merger with T-Mobile US represents an opportunity to consolidate the company's presence in its largest market, accounting for more than two-thirds of the company's adjusted profit last year. Both companies had been studying the possibility of creating a new holding company with a tax haven base, such as Luxembourg, the Netherlands, or Ireland, and a potential dual listing in the U.S. and Europe.