Following the collapse of its proposed deal to sell T-Mobile USA to AT&T, it seems Deutsche Telekom could sell off its UK interests.
According to a report from Bloomberg Business Week, the company is considering the sale of its stake in UK firm Everything Everywhere, which it jointly owns with France Telecom. The German giant planned to use funds from the $39bn AT&T deal to reduce its debt by €13bn ($17bn) and repurchase €5bn of its own shares. It is also looking to fund upgrades to fiber and wireless networks in Europe.
Everything Everywhere operates the T-Mobile and Orange brands in the UK. Any plan to offload Deutsche Telekom’s Everything Everywhere stake is reportedly at a very early stage, with no official word from the company or France Telecom. Indeed, a spokesperson for the German firm told Bloomberg that it had a “long-term commitment” to the U.K. market and that its venture is “competing successfully,” while France Telecom declined to comment.
This isn’t the first report of a shakeup at Everything Everywhere, which currently has the largest marketshare in the UK mobile market when both its brands are combined. Last month, there was talk of both the Orange and T-Mobile brands being jettisoned in favour of a single, unified name.
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We have contacted Deutsche Telekom for comment.
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