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Chief Executive Tim Hoettges said on Thursday T-Mobile US, of
which Deutsche Telekom owns 66 percent, was in much better shape
than two years ago.
"But it is our duty to go on improving the return on T-Mobile
US," he added. "If we find a partner who will help us to do so,
we will obviously consider it."
T-Mobile US, the fourth-largest wireless carrier in the United
States, has turned around years of subscriber losses with
cut-price deals, savvy marketing and well-publicized wireless
plans in recent quarters.
The turn-around comes as the U.S. telecoms market consolidates,
with mobile operators expanding their services into fixed-line
connections, broadband and television.
On Wednesday, European telecoms group Altice agreed to buy U.S.
regional cable company Suddenlink Communications for $9.1
billion. And last week Verizon agreed to buy AOL for $4.4
billion, while AT&T is still waiting for regulatory approval for
its $48.5 billion purchase of DirectTV, the No. 1 U.S. satellite
TV provide.
Deutsche Telekom last year tried to sell T-Mobile US to Sprint
but the No. 3 U.S. carrier dropped its bid after regulatory
resistance.
Hoettges told reporters on the sidelines of the meeting that
Deutsche Telekom was under no pressure to sell T-Mobile,
something he has said before.
"Customer are literally flocking to us," he said. T-Mobile added
more than 8 million new customers in 2014, the strongest growth
in the company's history, he said.
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Mark
Potter)
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