T-Mobile executives pull back from $300 billion Deutsche Telekom merger amid shareholder and regulator doubts

T-Mobile’s executives in the United States have informed controlling shareholder Deutsche Telekom that they no longer support the $300 billion merger plan, pointing to likely opposition from major institutional investors who view Deutsche Telekom as slower-growing. The deal, launched earlier this year, was supposed to be put to a shareholder vote, but confidence in securing the needed approvals has faded. Government officials have also indicated that the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States is expected to require assurances that any U.S. revenue generated by the combined entity will remain invested domestically.

T-Mobile generated about $18 billion in adjusted free cash flow last year and paid over $2 billion in dividends to Deutsche Telekom. A T-Mobile spokesperson declined to comment, and spokespeople for Deutsche Telekom and the Treasury Department did not respond to inquiries.