DTE.DE - Deutsche Telekom AG
| Previous Close | 14.65 |
| Open | 14.66 |
| Bid | 0.00 x 910400 |
| Ask | 0.00 x 288200 |
| Day's Range | 14.66 - 14.89 |
| 52 Week Range | 13.35 - 15.88 |
| Volume | 11,908,927 |
| Avg. Volume | 9,445,991 |
| Market Cap | 70.86B |
| Beta (3Y Monthly) | 0.23 |
| PE Ratio (TTM) | 27.97 |
| EPS (TTM) | 0.53 |
| Earnings Date | Nov 7, 2019 |
| Forward Dividend & Yield | 0.70 (4.78%) |
| Ex-Dividend Date | 2019-03-29 |
| 1y Target Est | 17.40 |
- Thomson Reuters StreetEvents
Edited Transcript of DTE.DE earnings conference call or presentation 8-Aug-19 12:00pm GMT
Q2 2019 Deutsche Telekom AG Earnings Call
- Bloomberg
Power-Hungry Phone Companies Dial Into Surging Green Bond Market
(Bloomberg) -- Phone carriers are huge energy users, and need to cut emissions. They also face massive bills to build out the next generation of wireless networks. Green bonds promise to help them with both.A steady flow of issuance could be building: Orange SA and BT Group Plc are poised to follow Telefonica SA and Verizon Communications Inc. in selling securities designed to fund environmentally friendly projects. The industry has already completed at least $3 billion of sales since January, its first steps into a sustainable debt market that Bloomberg New Energy Finance estimates could exceed $370 billion this year.The proceeds can help telecom companies replace power-hungry copper wires with fiber-optic cables, or build the 5G networks that promise to make cities, homes and factories more efficient. There’s plenty of investor appetite for this new take on sustainable investing, but there’s a catch: any hint that a bond doesn’t genuinely help the planet can cause some buyers to flee.“Telecoms have to invest a lot. In the long run, having green bonds in place is going to be very important,’’ said Juuso Rantala, who holds Telefonica’s green bond in the 400 million-euro ($449 million) fund he manages at Aktia Asset Management Ltd. in Finland. “If I find out that I cannot trust the company in the case of green bonds, I cannot trust them in many other ways too. If I cannot trust them, I don’t invest.’’The securities show how green debt is expanding beyond its original universe of the clean energy industry. Beef supplier Marfrig Global Foods SA and Australian retailer Woolworths Group Ltd. have tapped this market to help their operations become more environmentally friendly.For carriers, the task is urgent. The communications industry accounts for about 10% of global electricity demand, and that could exceed 20% by 2030 as demand for data balloons, according to Huawei Technologies Co.Telecom companies have ways to clean up their act. For example, replacing copper with glass wires would use 85% less energy, according to Telefonica. And 5G can enable a range of environmental benefits by allowing smart buildings to monitor heating, connected warehouses to optimize their logistics and power grids to better allocate electricity.But these companies are already staggering under a mountain of debt from, among other things, buying 5G licenses. They’ll need to make sure they can keep their borrowing costs low and tap investors when needed.That’s where green bonds can help: the interest costs are about the same as on these companies’ conventional securities, but they offer the opportunity to access a wider pool of investors.The share of funds focused on socially responsible investing, which includes environmental projects, has risen 34% over the last two years, and now accounts for $30.7 trillion of assets globally, according to the investor group Global Sustainable Investment Alliance.“Many more green telco bonds are likely,” Morgan Stanley analysts led by Emmet Kelly wrote in June. “Demand from funds that have incorporated sustainability into their investment framework has been key.’’Telefonica, based in Madrid, is a good example. Demand for the issue, which priced in January, was significant: the company received five times the orders than what was available for sale, and obtained a spread more than the mid-swap rate that was about 25 basis points lower than initial indications.The yield on the 1 billion-euro 5-year security is in line with the rest of its curve, Bloomberg data show, indicating it didn’t have to pay a premium to tap demand for sustainable credit. It’s a similar story for Verizon and Vodafone Group Plc.Orange and BT Group are paying attention -- they have inserted clauses into their Eurobond prospectuses which would let them issue green bonds in the near future. And Deutsche Telekom AG is monitoring the surging market closely, said a spokesman.For investors, the risks go beyond what’s expected for any fixed-income asset. Buyers also have consider just how green these bonds are.“The question is whether or not a bond offers a real energy efficiency gain or overall gain for the environment,’’ said Arnaud-Guilhem Lamy, who holds telecom securities in his 340 million-euro ($381 million) green bond fund at BNP Paribas Asset Management in Paris. “If we think it’s insufficient, we would sell.’’For a start, there’s always the possibility that this new breed of green-bond borrowers divert proceeds to inappropriate purposes, including pooling them into general funds. Though monitoring groups such as credit rating firms can discourage such behavior, it’s something investors need to watch.But 5G presents a particular environmental paradox.Internet-of-things technologies will connect billions more devices and require many more antennas, so 5G will initially use more power than 4G, according to Sustainalytics, an independent corporate sustainability research firm. This complicates the idea that 5G can be a green investment.However, Sustainalytics estimates the energy savings from 5G outweigh the extra emissions to deploy the new tech by a ratio of 5 to 1. The firm’s analysis of the Verizon bond issue, which included 5G deployment among the potential use of proceeds, found that it was a credible candidate for green financing.It’s a good thing, because Verizon plans on returning to this corner of the bond market. It looks like it will be welcome, too – its $1 billion issue of 10-year green debt was eight times oversubscribed within six hours of being offered for sale, said Jim Gowen, head of supply chain and sustainability for the U.S. carrier.“It was far beyond our wildest expectations,” Gowen said. “We are very interested in doing another one.’’\--With assistance from Paul Cohen and Lyubov Pronina.To contact the reporter on this story: Thomas Seal in London at tseal@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Rebecca Penty at rpenty@bloomberg.net, Jennifer RyanFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Deutsche Telekom confident U.S. merger will still deliver cost savings
Deutsche Telekom said on Thursday it still expects the merger of its U.S. unit T-Mobile with Sprint to generate $43 billion in cost savings even after tweaking the deal to secure antitrust clearance. The U.S. Department of Justice approved the deal, which was struck more than a year ago, after T-Mobile agreed to sell Sprint's prepaid business to satellite TV firm Dish Network Corp to create a fourth U.S. wireless carrier. The merger of the No.3 and No.4 U.S. mobile players would create a business accounting for more than three fifths of group revenue at Deutsche Telekom, which is the leader in its home market and has a broad European presence.
- Reuters
UPDATE 2-Deutsche Telekom confident U.S. merger will still deliver cost savings
Deutsche Telekom said on Thursday it still expects the merger of its U.S. unit T-Mobile with Sprint to generate $43 billion in cost savings even after tweaking the deal to secure antitrust clearance. The U.S. Department of Justice approved the deal, which was struck more than a year ago, after T-Mobile agreed to sell Sprint's prepaid business to satellite TV firm Dish Network Corp to create a fourth U.S. wireless carrier.
- Reuters
Two German fibre groups for sale; buyer could combine them -sources
Two German fibre-optic networks operators are coming up for sale, presenting an opportunity for a potential buyer to create a sizeable player in a fragmented market where Deutsche Telekom dominates, sources close to the matter said. Inexio, 59%-owned by buyout group Warburg Pincus, is expected to launch a sale in the second half of the year that could value it at more than 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion), the sources said. Rival Deutsche Glasfaser, majority-owned by private equity investor KKR, is also preparing a sale which may start in late 2019 or early 2020, they added.
- Moody's
T-Mobile USA, Inc. -- Moody's says DOJ approval of T-Mobile's merger with Sprint has no ratings impact; lawsuit by 13 state AGs remains primary hurdle
Moody's Investors Service says the ratings of T-Mobile USA, Inc. (T-Mobile, Ba2 stable) and Sprint Corporation (Sprint, B2 review for upgrade) remain unchanged following the filing today of a proposed settlement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Attorneys General for five states that addresses the anticompetitive concerns of the DOJ's Antitrust Division regarding the proposed merger between T-Mobile US, Inc. (T-Mobile US), the parent of T-Mobile, and Sprint. While this proposed settlement still needs to be approved by the US District Court for the District of Columbia, a primary hurdle for the merger's close remains in the form of litigation by 13 state Attorneys General and the District of Columbia (state AGs group).
- Bloomberg
T-Mobile and Sprint Are Almost One. Hooray?
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The government body that long posed the biggest obstacle to the union of T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. because of the deal’s glaring antitrust issues has now given its blessing. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice approved the controversial $59 billion merger, capping a rather unconventional regulatory review process with a decision that will utterly transform the U.S. wireless market.The deal may alter how wireless-plan prices are set in the industry, where Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. are currently the only other national carriers. As part of the flimsy concessions meant to offset the negative effects, T-Mobile agreed to sell Sprint’s Boost and Virgin pay-as-you-go wireless businesses and some airwaves to Dish Network Corp., a satellite-TV company. Makan Delrahim, the DOJ’s top antitrust enforcer, is seeking to synthetically create a new fourth competitor through Dish, which will have access to T-Mobile’s wireless network for seven years while it builds its own. But Dish is inexperienced in this business, so it has a long way to go and much work to do before it can disrupt the market the same way that competition between T-Mobile and Sprint has for the last few years.In an earlier agreement with Ajit Pai, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, T-Mobile pledged to hold off on price increases, but only for three years, by which point it promises to cover 97% of the population with 5G service. Backing a deal that was once seen as off-limits, the federal government broadly has taken the stance that the merger is essential for U.S. companies to lead the world in launching faster 5G data networks, though it’s not entirely clear why.There’s irony in the fact that amid all the chest-thumping about U.S. technological dominance, the biggest beneficiary of the DOJ’s decision is a billionaire from Japan named Masayoshi Son. His company, SoftBank Group Corp., controls the downtrodden Overland Park, Kansas-based Sprint, which has largely been a disappointing investment for Son. Sprint, strained by debt and a run-down brand, now gets to join a superior operator on healthier footing – and Son gets a piece of it. SoftBank is retaining 27% economic ownership of the combined entity, while T-Mobile’s German parent, Deutsche Telekom AG, will own 42%. Shares of their rivals, Verizon and AT&T, extended gains after the DOJ announcement.It’s not a done deal yet. Attorneys general from 13 states and the District of Columbia have sued to block the merger; should they proceed, they may have a strong case. However, Delrahim is reportedly trying to negotiate with state officials.Still, the DOJ appears to be contradicting itself. Just three days ago, Delrahim’s antitrust division announced a broad review of the U.S. technology giants, such as Facebook Inc. and Google, to look into whether they possess too much power and cause consumer harm. Backing a deal that similarly has the potential to hurt consumers is inconsistent with his concerns about tech overreach. The appearance of a double standard doesn’t help to suppress speculation that political forces may be at play.Questions have been raised about White House interference, just as they were during last year’s trial over AT&T’s takeover of Time Warner, in which the DOJ failed in its effort to block the deal. While some 2020 Democratic presidential hopefuls have come out against the Sprint takeover, arguing it would hurt lower-income consumers and Americans in rural areas, President Donald Trump has signaled support by emphasizing the need to be globally competitive in 5G and facilitate such investments: The FCC also became fiercely divided along party lines. Pai, a Republican, broke with tradition by voicing his support for the transaction in May, before his own agency colleagues and counterparts at the DOJ had the chance to complete their analyses. Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, expressed her displeasure with how this was handled, saying it “looks like some backroom dealing.”The country’s 5G push isn’t based on fantasy or a ruse, but it’s not clear how enabling T-Mobile and Sprint to combine their 5G capabilities abates the antitrust issues. On the one hand, T-Mobile will gain Sprint’s desirable mid-band spectrum, which can carry data at fast speeds and still travel long distances and through buildings. That makes it practical for connecting rural areas, as the companies promise to help close the country’s digital divide. After all, there’s a connection between income inequality and a lack of affordable access to wireless connectivity, which has become part of our social fabric.But while addressing that problem is certainly a mission to support, skepticism is warranted when any megamerger promises better service and better prices as a result. Just look at the airline industry: Consolidation has left the carriers with little incentive to compete on price or labor, improve the experience for customers or try to earn their trust (and in the case of wireless companies, part of that trust is with our personal data, and it’s been broken before).As for the notion that Dish is going to maintain the competitive balance, if that were true there’d be little reason for T-Mobile to do the deal as it likely seeks to close the gap with its larger rivals and earn margins more on par with theirs. Dish hasn’t even proven a reliable narrator in its own story yet, given that Chairman Charlie Ergen’s wireless talk has mostly been just that. It will take time for Dish to become widely known as another option for wireless service, never mind the costly, time-consuming process of actually building a network.T-Mobile and Sprint have been important competitive and innovative forces in the wireless market. We’ll know in due time whether regulators erred in not trying harder to preserve that.To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., media and telecommunications. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Napping Spanish Dealmaker Nears The End of Its Siesta
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Is Telefonica SA ready to return to its acquisitive ways? Almost.Since Jose Maria Alvarez-Pallete was promoted from operations chief to the joint chief executive and chairman role in 2016, the focus at Spain’s former national carrier has been debt reduction. And quite rightly, too – he inherited one of the biggest debt piles in Europe.He has sold businesses in Latin America, stakes in the cell towers unit, and other businesses not considered central, raising at least 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion), according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Operating income before depreciation and amortization, the company’s preferred earnings measure, hit 8.7 billion euros in the first six months of this year, up 12% from three years ago. Net debt has fallen below 40 billion euros for the first time in more than a decade.But historically Telefonica has been a voracious acquirer. In the decade before Alvarez-Pallete took the reins, it spent some 26 billion euros investing in operators from Brazil to Italy. And that excludes its majority-owned subsidiary Telefonica Deutschland AG’s 8.6-billion-euro acquisition of KPN NV’s German operations in 2013.While acquisitions on that sort of scale would still ask a lot from investors, there’s the possibility of some smaller deals. Changes in the telecoms landscape have made Telefonica’s debt pile more acceptable: the trajectory of its biggest rivals mean it looks a lot more frugal.That’s because the dealmaking of two other European telecoms giants, Vodafone Group Plc and Deutsche Telekom AG, has stretched their debt exposure to levels similar to those of Telefonica. Vodafone is awaiting the completion of its 18.4 billion-euro acquisition of Liberty Global Plc’s German and Eastern European operations, while Deutsche Telekom is hoping its U.S. unit’s $57.8 billion deal for Sprint Corp. secures regulatory approval soon.Although the Spanish firm hasn’t yet reported its net debt ratios according to the most recent accounting standards, it’s likely to be somewhere close to 2.8 times Ebitda. That’s below Vodafone’s 2.9 times, and similar to the level around which Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Aidan Cheslin expects Deutsche Telekom to land following the Sprint takeover. And Telefonica’s capital costs are less than Vodafone’s. Assuming that the Spanish firm’s debt pile continues to shrink as we head towards 2020, it could feasibly start looking at deals in adjacent markets where it would be easy to execute operational synergies. Investment bankers would also love a tie-up with Liberty’s U.K. cable business, Virgin Media, but it’s hard to see how Telefonica could be the consolidator in such a deal without some very creative financing. Portugal’s NOS SGPS S.A., with a market capitalization of some 3 billion euros, might be more in the realms of possibility.For his part, Alvarez-Pallete seemed to indicate that Telefonica is ready to end the era of divestments. The firm no longer needs to sell businesses solely to reduce its debt pile, he intimated to analysts in a conference call on Thursday. Perhaps he's ready to return to the consolidator role.The company probably isn’t there just yet. But it’s likely to have the firepower in the not too distant future if it maintains the current path.To contact the author of this story: Alex Webb at awebb25@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Jennifer Ryan at jryan13@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Alex Webb is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Europe's technology, media and communications industries. He previously covered Apple and other technology companies for Bloomberg News in San Francisco.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Dish Agrees to $5 Billion Deal for Wireless Assets
(Bloomberg) -- Satellite-TV provider Dish Network Corp. has agreed to pay $5 billion for wireless assets in a deal with T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp., setting the stage for the Justice Department to approve the $26.5 billion merger of the mobile-phone carriers, according to people familiar with the matter.After weeks of negotiations, the parties have hammered out an agreement under which Dish will pay about $1.5 billion for prepaid mobile businesses and roughly $3.5 billion for spectrum, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are still private. Under the terms of the deal, Dish can’t sell the assets or hand over control of the agreement to a third party for three years, the people said.The accord should allow the Justice Department to sign off on T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint as soon as Thursday. T-Mobile also is expected to reiterate that the economic terms of the Sprint deal, which it said would generate about $43 billion in savings, won’t be affected by the asset sale to Dish, the people said.Representatives for Dish, T-Mobile, Sprint and the Justice Department declined to comment.Sprint shares jumped as much as 7.2% in New York trading Wednesday and T-Mobile gained as much as 1.9%. Dish slipped as much as 2.3%.Shares of SoftBank Group Corp., the Japanese owner of Sprint, rose as much as 3.3% after Bloomberg reported on the Dish deal. T-Mobile is backed by Deutsche Telekom AG, which rose less than 1% in Frankfurt.T-Mobile and Sprint -- and their overseas parent companies -- have spent more than a year fighting to get their merger approved. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai recommended in May that his agency clear the deal, but the Justice Department has been harder to win over.As part of the Dish agreement, the satellite-TV company gets a seven-year wholesale agreement allowing it to sell T-Mobile wireless service under the Dish brand. The package also includes a three-year service agreement from T-Mobile to provide operational support as prepaid customers shift to Dish.Fourth CarrierThe Justice Department’s antitrust chief, Makan Delrahim, has pushed for an agreement that would be a win for consumers and compensate for the fact that T-Mobile’s merger with Sprint would reduce the number of major players in the wireless industry to three from four.Dish’s role would satisfy the government’s longstanding demand that there be four national mobile-service companies remaining, even after the merger of the third- and fourth-ranked carriers in the market.Critics have noted that the track record for competitors created by divestitures has been dismal. French communications firm Iliad SA became Italy’s fourth carrier last year after buying assets divested by two larger rivals that merged. Iliad had an initial surge in subscriber growth, followed by a slowdown.Even if T-Mobile and Sprint secure the Justice Department’s blessing, they face resistance from a group of state attorneys general. They say the deal should be blocked because it will hinder competition and raise prices.(Updates with shares in fifth paragraph.)To contact the reporters on this story: Nabila Ahmed in New York at nahmed54@bloomberg.net;David McLaughlin in Washington at dmclaughlin9@bloomberg.net;Scott Moritz in New York at smoritz6@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Liana Baker at lbaker75@bloomberg.net, Nick TurnerFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Reuters
Deutsche Telekom sets meeting as T-Mobile, Sprint deal nears approval: report
Deutsche Telekom has called a leadership meeting on Wednesday in expectation of U.S. regulatory approval of the proposed merger of its U.S. T-Mobile unit with rival Sprint, according to business daily Handelsblatt. A meeting to update Deutsche Telekom's supervisory board on U.S. strategy has been scheduled for 10:15 am (0815 GMT), Handelsblatt reported. It cited unnamed sources as saying that officials at the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) were expected to give the nod to the $26 billion deal after months of negotiations to address antitrust concerns arising from the deal.
- Reuters
UPDATE 1-Deutsche Telekom sets meeting as T-Mobile, Sprint deal nears approval-report
Deutsche Telekom has called a leadership meeting on Wednesday in expectation of U.S. regulatory approval of the proposed merger of its U.S. T-Mobile unit with rival Sprint, according to business daily Handelsblatt. A meeting to update Deutsche Telekom's supervisory board on U.S. strategy has been scheduled for 10:15 am (0815 GMT), Handelsblatt reported. It cited unnamed sources as saying that officials at the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) were expected to give the nod to the $26 billion deal after months of negotiations to address antitrust concerns arising from the deal.
- Motley Fool
T-Mobile-Sprint Deal With Department of Justice May Be Stalling
T-Mobile's parent company doesn't want to enable a potential competitor.
- Reuters
UPDATE 2-U.S. Justice Department may sue to block Sprint, T-Mobile merger -source
The U.S. Justice Department has told T-Mobile US Inc and Sprint Corp to wrap up a deal by the end of next week to sell assets that are to be divested as a condition of their proposed merger or face a lawsuit aimed at stopping the transaction, a source familiar with the deal said on Thursday. T-Mobile and Sprint did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment. The Justice Department declined to comment.
- Reuters
EU clears Vodafone's $22 billion Liberty deal
BRUSSELS/LONDON (Reuters) - Brussels gave its blessing to Vodafone's $22 billion purchase of Liberty Global's cable networks in Germany and central Europe, clearing the way for the British company to become Europe's largest mobile, broadband and TV provider. The deal is the standout move by Vodafone in its bid to become a provider of superfast broadband and pay-TV, rather than just a pure mobile provider. The strategy, launched by former CEO Vittorio Colao, is designed to increase customer spending and deepen user loyalty.
- Reuters
UPDATE 1-EU clears Vodafone's $22 billion Liberty deal
BRUSSELS/LONDON, July 18 (Reuters) - Brussels gave its blessing to Vodafone's $22 billion purchase of Liberty Global's cable networks in Germany and central Europe, clearing the way for the British company to become Europe's largest mobile, broadband and TV provider. The deal is the standout move by Vodafone in its bid to become a provider of superfast broadband and pay-TV, rather than just a pure mobile provider.
- Moody's
ISS Global A/S -- Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of ISS Global A/S
Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of ISS Global A/S and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. This publication does not announce a credit rating action and is not an indication of whether or not a credit rating action is likely in the near future.
- Reuters
Vodafone launches 5G in Germany, challenges D.Telekom on price
Vodafone said on Tuesday it was launching 5G services in Germany, taking on Deutsche Telekom by offering cheaper deals and reaching more cities than the market leader that went live last week. Vodafone, which has already launched limited 5G services in its British home market, is switching on 5G antennae in 20 German towns and cities - a figure that Deutsche Telekom only expects to reach next year. "We are democratising 5G," Vodafone's Germany chief Hannes Ametsreiter said in a statement.
- Reuters
State AGs fighting T-Mobile, Sprint merger say October trial may not be possible
An attorney for the state attorneys general who filed a lawsuit in hopes of stopping T-Mobile's $26 billion merger with Sprint told the judge on Monday that an Oct. 7 trial may not be possible. In a letter to Judge Victor Marrero on Monday, attorney Glenn Pomerantz said that in exchange for the expedited October 7 trial date, the states had been promised materials on a settlement between the Justice Department and the companies by June 28. "Plaintiff states engaged in discussions yesterday with defendants regarding the appropriate trial date and pre-trial schedule and continue to confer with defendants," Pomerantz wrote in his letter.
- Reuters
Deutsche Telekom loses lawsuit over all-you-can-watch video product
Deutsche Telekom has lost a legal battle to continue offering an all-you-can-watch mobile video product after a court sided with the German regulator, saying it violated European rules on roaming and network neutrality. The appeals court in Muenster ruled that Deutsche Telekom's StreamOn product could no longer be offered in its current form, confirming a lower court decision in favour of restrictions imposed by the Federal Network Agency (BNetzA) in December 2017.
- Bloomberg
Dish’s Charlie Ergen Can Make or Break T-Moblie-Sprint Deal
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Players beware when Charlie Ergen holds all the cards. As T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. continue to fight in Washington for their long-awaited merger, the wily satellite-TV billionaire is the companies’ best hope for getting the deal through. Unless, of course, he walks away.Ergen, the 66-year-old chairman and co-founder of Dish Network Corp., has a reputation for being an finicky dealmaker, with a tendency to upset merger processes and then drop out. The former professional poker player would say he’s simply not afraid to fold his cards – or alienate his peers. Case in point: A few years ago, Ergen offered to buy both Sprint and Clearwire, which then turned into a bidding war against Sprint for Clearwire, a collection of wireless-spectrum assets. Ergen ultimately gave up on both pursuits, but not before driving Sprint to pay about 70% more than it initially bid. Sprint got Ergened. Back to present day, and what do you know: Sprint’s fate pretty much rests in Ergen’s hands, as the U.S. Department of Justice determines whether to approve or reject its $59 billion takeover by T-Mobile. Makan Delrahim, the DOJ’s head of antitrust, reportedly wants the companies to divest assets that could be used to create a new viable fourth competitor as a check on the industry’s pricing power. So Ergen, who had been among the merger’s biggest opponents, is now ostensibly ready to be the deal’s savior by acquiring those assets and committing to morphing Dish into a full-fledged wireless carrier. Maybe. Over the years, Ergen had gamed the government auction system to scoop up Dish’s own valuable spectrum licenses, which have a use-it-or-lose-it provision with nearing deadlines. Taking on the scraps from the T-Mobile-Sprint deal could ease that pressure and help Ergen make good on his promises to build a network. But if unnamed sources cited by the New York Post are to be believed, Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile’s parent, is insisting it will only hand those assets to Dish if it vows not to sell more than a 5% stake in itself to a third party such as Google or Amazon.com Inc., which are two giant would-be threats to the industry.It makes sense that T-Mobile’s side would be worried about Dish teaming up with one of those deeper-pocketed companies, as I wrote last month. And agreeing not to do so certainly isn’t in Dish’s best interests. Ergen has said he needs a partner for Dish’s network build-out, which presumably would entail some sort of shared ownership.For that reason, Ergen could just walk away once again. Without him, there may be no T-Mobile-Sprint merger. After all, 13 states and the District of Columbia have sued to block the deal in a trial that may start in October. No deal could also mean T-Mobile turns to Dish to fulfill its spectrum needs.“Charlie is very hard to understand and predict,” billionaire dealmaker John Malone, owner of the Liberty media assets and director emeritus at Charter Communications Inc., said of Ergen a few years ago. “He’s very creative, but he’s a poker player.” (Ironically, Fox Business Network reported that because some at T-Mobile and Sprint are skeptical of Ergen’s dealings with the DOJ, they’re “praying” Charter and Malone will bid for the divested assets.)John Legere, T-Mobile’s outspoken and genial CEO, has been an ideal pitchman for the deal, smoothly handling inquisitions by Congress over the past year and constantly using his highly followed social media channels to promote the merger. But his style may be no match for Ergen’s whimsy. At the end of Legere’s latest episode of “Slow Cooker Sunday” this week – where he demonstrated recipes for Cajun corn on the cob and lemon feta drumsticks – the magenta-apron-wearing executive took a moment to make a wish. I think I know what it was. This may be the week that finally yields a decision from the DOJ, and what that decision will be is still anyone’s guess. But what I can say for certain is something I’ve said many times before: Good luck betting against Charlie Ergen. To contact the author of this story: Tara Lachapelle at tlachapelle@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Beth Williams at bewilliams@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Tara Lachapelle is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals, Berkshire Hathaway Inc., media and telecommunications. She previously wrote an M&A column for Bloomberg News.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Bloomberg
Germany Makes Push for Cloud Service Independent of U.S.
(Bloomberg) -- German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier plans to build up a German cloud service to allow European companies to store data independent of Asian or U.S. rivals such as Amazon.com Inc.“Germany has a right to technological sovereignty,” said Altmaier during a visit to San Francisco. “Data clouds should not only be set up in the U.S. or China, but also in Germany so that European companies, which want secure and reliable data storage, have this option.”Altmaier’s plans are a second attempt to build up an independent German cloud service. Deutsche Telekom AG has been marketing its own cloud as a secure alternative to U.S. platforms, but at the end of 2018 began offering access to Amazon’s data centers in a recognition of its longtime rival’s dominance in Europe.The minister said he’s seeking partners for his planned cloud alliance and is in talks with SAP SE, Deutsche Telekom and other companies. He expects a decision by the companies in the next months, he said.Geopolitical tensions and trade wars are making European politicians cautious about domestic champions ceding control of their data to technology suppliers from the U.S. or China, fearing that providers could deny access to critical information about customers or production, or serve as a venue for rogue agents.Under the Trump Administration’s Cloud Act (or the “Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data Act”) that was signed last year, all U.S. cloud providers can be ordered to provide local authorities data stored on their servers no matter where that data is physically stored. A similar concept has been enshrined in Chinese law since 2017, in which information of citizens must be stored in-country and accessible on demand to the authorities.Agnes Pannier-Runacher, France’s deputy economy minister, said in an interview with Bloomberg in June that European businesses relinquishing control of their data was “a systemic risk” to the competitiveness and sovereignty of an economy.Germany’s central bank has also recently warned the region’s banking sector that the move to shifting data on the cloud will make the industry harder to monitor.(Updated with additional context.)To contact the reporter on this story: Birgit Jennen in Berlin at bjennen1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Ben Sills at bsills@bloomberg.net, ;Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Andrew PollackFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
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Qualcomm, BMW Triumph in EU Fight Over Connected Car Rules
(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.Qualcomm Inc., BMW AG, and Deutsche Telekom AG clinched a victory Thursday after European Union member states scrapped new rules mandating WiFi technology as the basis for how future connected cars talk to each other.The ruling is victory for 5G technology as countries around the world prepare for the roll-out of ultra-fast 5G wireless networks, which will power everything from self-driving cars to smart factories.The legislation -- first proposed in March by the European Commission, the bloc’s executive -- aimed to govern how future connected and automated cars in Europe send information between vehicles and infrastructure, in order to communicate about dangerous situations, road works, traffic lights and more.The companies had been urging EU legislators to veto it out of concern it would force them to make additional investments to fit a soon-to-be outdated technology, saying WiFi offers poorer performance than cellular-based technology compatible with future 5G networks.“Member states sent today a strong signal to the commission that technology neutrality should prevail," said Maxime Flament, chief technology officer at the 5G Automotive Association, which includes Qualcomm and Daimler AG as members. "Only a level-playing field between existing technologies will allow safer, more efficient mobility on European roads."The decision by representatives of the EU’s member states, which still needs to be formally rubber-stamped by its ministers on Monday, forces the commission back to the drawing board to come up with a new proposal.In a statement, EU Transport Commissioner Violeta Bulc said she takes "good note" of the decision, stressing the need for an EU-wide cooperative intelligent transport system."We cannot miss this opportunity and lose valuable time to make our roads safer," Bulc said. "We will therefore continue to work together with member states to address their concerns and find a suitable way forward."Volkswagen AG, General Motors Co., and Volvo Group have been proponents of the draft rules favoring WiFi systems, arguing that the industry needs clarity on what systems to use as soon as possible, and that it currently is the only proven technology.(Adds comments from 5GAA, European Commission.)To contact the reporter on this story: Natalia Drozdiak in Brussels at ndrozdiak1@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Giles Turner at gturner35@bloomberg.net, Nate LanxonFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
