- Bloomberg reported that Deutsche Telekom’s plans to combine with T-Mobile US hit the brakes
- Labor representatives and activist investor Elliott Investment Management reportedly pushed back on the plan
- It’s possible that the effort will be revisited at a later date, according to Bloomberg’s sources
It looks as though Deutsche Telekom’s bid for a grand combination with its U.S. arm T-Mobile – which could be one of the largest mergers of all time – is off.
Citing unidentified sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that Deutsche Telekom’s plans to combine with T-Mobile in the U.S. hit a snag, with the German telecom giant opting against submitting a formal bid for the time being.
The decision was in part due to pushback from Deutsche Telekom’s works council, an entity that represents employee interests, according to the report, which left open the possibility that talks will be revived in the future.
DT did not immediately respond to a request for comment. T-Mobile declined to comment on the report.
Talks actually fizzled over the summer, according to a July report from Semafor, which said that T-Mobile U.S. executives no longer supported a proposed $300 billion merger between the two companies, citing both shareholder and potential regulatory concerns.
In addition, Bloomberg News reported in September that activist investor Elliott Investment Management, which has a sizable stake in DT, pushed the company to ditch the merger plan.
Instead, Elliott was pressing for DT to consider alternative ways to unlock shareholder value, including larger share buybacks. That position set Elliott against DT CEO Tim Hoettges, who’s reportedly pushed for a full combination to create the world’s biggest phone company.
That report also noted that if a deal were to happen, it would need to appease multiple stakeholders, including the German state, which controls about 28% of DT.
DT is T-Mobile’s biggest shareholder, having spent years building up its ownership in T-Mobile and reaching a stake of over 50% in 2023. T-Mobile’s current CEO, Srini Gopalan, was the CEO of Deutsche Telekom Germany before he joined T-Mobile as chief operating officer in March 2025. He succeeded CEO Mike Sievert in November 2025. Gopalan had also been on T-Mobile’s board for several years.
Sievert officially leaves the building
Earlier this week, Sievert notified T-Mobile’s board of directors of his decision to resign from the board and its Transaction Committee, effective November 1, 2026. Sievert will also step down as vice chair of the board.
The SEC filing announcing his departure said it is “not the result of any disagreement with the company on any matter relating to its operations, policies or practices.”
In a statement shared with Fierce, T-Mobile said Sievert’s role as vice chair was always structured as a one-year term, and he informed the board this week that he was not planning to renew.
“He’s been a valued strategic advisor throughout the leadership transition, and we’re incredibly grateful for his contributions,” T-Mobile’s statement said.
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