Deutsche Telekom had already given up on selling their 67% stake in T-Mobile US before Illiad dropped their bid on Monday, Reuters reported. The French telecom company explained they abandoned their bid to buy T-Mobile because of resistance from Deutsche Telekom. According to Reuters, “Deutsche Telekom had hoped to reduce its exposure to the U.S. business before next year’s scheduled auction of radio waves which analysts estimate will cost T-Mobile billions of dollars to get the lower-range frequencies it needs to give its mobile network further reach and better compete with rival operators Verizon, AT&T and Sprint.” Nikolai Lukashevich, a credit analyst at Fitch, said, “T-Mobile US’s credit profile is weaker than Deutsche Telekom’s, therefore a sale of T-Mobile US to a strategic partner would have been the preferred option.” Bloomberg noted that, “T-Mobile is out to prove it’s better off alone.” The news source explained that pressure is back on CEO John Legere to remain on the comeback trail after the third suitor in three years recently walked away. “That’s just fine with Chief Executive Officer Legere, if his recent comments are any guide. In a profanity-laced tirade earlier this month, Legere said he was ‘sick and tired’ of deal speculation. He also said there are a number of ways for T-Mobile to be a growing, profitable company without being acquired. He’s been winning over customers so far, and for shareholders’ sake, he’ll need to keep delivering,” Bloomberg reported.
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