Market Currents

• Friday, November 20, 2009

• 08:20 AM Deutsche Telekom (DT) is reportedly seeking a partner for T-Mobile, one that could help it finance investments in networks with fast data transfers. MetroPCS (PCS), Clearwire (CLWR) and AT&T (T) are all potential candidates, but the company might also look for a purely financial investor from outside the sector. 1 Comment

• Friday, November 13, 2009

• 04:36 AM Liberty Global (LBTYA) agrees to acquire Germany's #2 cable operator, Unitymedia, from BC Partners and Apollo Management for a total of €3.5B including debt. Liberty said it's paying 7.4x 2010e Ebitda to acquire Unity, which "complements our existing European footprint and has significant untapped growth potential in one of the fastest-growing cable markets in Europe." Competitors include Deutsche Telekom (DT) and Sky Deutschland (NWS). Comment!

• Thursday, October 15, 2009

• 10:52 AM Microsoft (MSFT) manages to recover most if not all of the lost Sidekick data. Great news for users, but the damage may be done for T-Mobile (DT). (previously) Comment!

• Saturday, October 10, 2009

• 19:49 PM Ugly trainwreck for T-Mobile (DT) Sidekick users, with Microsoft-owned subsidiary Danger (MSFT) saying the likelihood of customers getting their data (contacts, calendars, etc.) back is "extremely low." Cloud computing is only as good as its proprietors' redundancies, which in this case weren't very good at all. 5 Comments

• Monday, September 21, 2009

• 13:31 PM After earlier rumors that MetroPCS (PCS +1.6%) might merge with Leap Wireless (LEAP), new reports from Financial Times bloggers on a potential $5B hookup with T-Mobile USA (DT) have bullish PCS options surging. (previously) Comment!

• Wednesday, September 16, 2009

• 10:24 AM Notwithstanding recent speculation, the chances of Deutsche Telekom (DT -0.5%) acquiring Sprint Nextel (S -0.7%) remain low, Thomas Weisel says, downgrading shares to Marketweight. "Current price levels do not fully reflect recent changes in the Sprint business and the wireless landscape," firm says. Ok, but how about Google (GOOG)? Comment!

• Monday, September 14, 2009

• 07:16 AM Sprint (S) +10.1% premarket on reports Deutsche Telekom (DT -1.4%) is considering a bid. Though potentially costly, an offer for Sprint could help boost DT from a distant fourth place in the U.S. market. 1 Comment

• Sunday, September 13, 2009

• 16:26 PM Hot off its JV with France Telecom's (FTE) Orange, Deutsche Telekom (DT) is reportedly mulling a bid for Sprint Nextel (S). 1 Comment

• Tuesday, September 8, 2009

• 04:19 AM As expected, Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) announce plans to merge their U.K. operations - T-Mobile U.K. and Orange - vaulting them into the lead of the U.K. market with 30M customers and 38% market share. The combo will generate cost savings of £4B ($5.7B). (PR) Comment!

• Monday, September 7, 2009

• 10:09 AM Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) will join their U.K. operations in a 'merger of equals,' topping Telefonica (TEF) to form Britain's largest mobile-phone operator. The deal is expected to be signed today, and announced tomorrow. (DJ) Comment!

• Sunday, September 6, 2009

• 17:17 PM Sources say Vodafone (VOD) and Telefonica SA (TEF) have each tabled £3.5B bids for T-Mobile UK (DT), but Deutsche Telekom CEO Rene Obermann may prefer a proposal by France Telecom (FTE) which would merge T-Mobile with Orange. (London Times) Comment!

• Friday, September 4, 2009

• 11:19 AM Sprint (S) will start selling its first Android-based phone in October, which should help Android (GOOG) gain wider acceptance and gives Google access to a larger subscriber base. Until now, Android has only been available through T-Mobile USA (DT). Comment!

• Thursday, September 3, 2009

• 14:16 PM Deutsche Telekom (DT +1.5%) is reportedly putting T-Mobile UK on the selling block, with possible buyers including Vodafone (VOD), France Telecom (FTE) and Telefonica (TEF). Comment!

• Thursday, July 2, 2009

• 08:51 AM A potential bidding war for the British unit of Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile (DT): After reports last week that Vodafone (VOD) is considering a bid, come reports that both France Telecom's Orange (FTE) and Telefonica's O2 (TEF) are also weighing offers. Comment!

• Monday, June 29, 2009

• 07:15 AM Vodafone (VOD) is reportedly mulling a bid to buy T-Mobile UK (DT) in a move that would shake up the U.K. mobile market and face potential resistance from regulators. A deal would give Vodafone control of around 35M subscribers, about 50% of the U.K. market. Comment!

• Monday, June 22, 2009

• 08:40 AM T-Mobile (DT) is expected to unveil its second Android-based (GOOG) phone today, with plans to start selling the touch-screen phone in early August. Sales of the original G1 phone have already topped the 1M mark. Comment!