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Pulling the deal marks a setback for T-Systems
CEO Adel Al-Saleh, who since being hired at he start of 2018 has
reduced staff, closed offices and sought to hive off business
lines that are not expected to generate profitable growth.
"According to our preliminary assessment IBM holds a dominant
position here in the European Economic Area which would have
been further strengthened by acquiring personnel and essential
infrastructure from its competitor, T-Systems," said Cartel
Office chief Andreas Mundt in a statement on Friday.
The firms said in January they would team up to provide
computing services at on-site servers, a traditional strength of
IBM that has been challenged in recent years by the explosion of
'cloud' computing hosted at remote datacenters.
The companies did not disclose terms, but reports at the time
said IBM would pay 860 million euros ($962 million) to T-Systems
as part of the deal to take on the business that employs 400
staff.
Al-Saleh of T-Systems said IBM's withdrawal of its filing to the
cartel office was by mutual agreement and he would explore
further options.
"The mainframe services partnership with IBM would have been
beneficial for all parties," he said in a statement. "Given the
Federal Cartel Office position, we have decided to pursue other
alternatives to drive value to our clients."
Al-Saleh added that mainframes would continue to be an important
part of the T-Systems portfolio. "We are exploring other
alternatives how we get latest technology and solutions to our
clients."
No comment was immediately available from IBM.
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine, Editing by Mark Potter)
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