For quite some time now T-Mobile has been hitting the headlines for a number of their “uncarrier” moves which have looked to shake up the industry and offer consumers better value for their money. Moves which have cemented T-Mobile’s position in the market and seen the company progress to the third spot in the U.S. behind AT&T and Verizon. That said, the seemingly continued success of T-Mobile has not stopped Deutsche Telekom from wanting to sell off their investment in T-Mobile and even in spite of the reports coming through last year that Deutsche Telekom has seen revenues increase thanks to T-Mobile’s success in the U.S.
Of course, completing a sale has been anything but easy for Deutsche Telekom with numerous attempts to sell to the likes of AT&T and Sprint either falling through or being shot down by the FCC, which has meant the continued news of possible talks has repeatedly come through over time. The latest of which is that in spite of Deutsche Telekom looking for their exit strategy, it now seems that the company will be taking a hiatus from trying to sell their 65.4-percent ownership. According to the report from Reuters, the reason for the temporary halt is the upcoming spectrum auction which is due to take place.
The auction which will look to sell low-frequency airwaves will be taking place in the next couple of weeks and T-Mobile is thought to be looking to scoop up all they can from the auction. However, one of the conditions of participation in such an auction, is the prohibiting of merger talks before, during and after an auction. As such, Deutsche Telekom will be holding off until the auction comes to a close before resuming their intention to sell. According to two sources on the matter, another benefit to placing a hold on a sale is to wait until the telecoms landscape is one which better favors a merger of this sort. As such, it is currently unclear how long the hold will remain in place, although it is is fair to assume if Deutsche Telekom receives an offer that interests them in the meantime, talks would likely resume promptly enough.