According to Reuters, based on a report by Dutch financial publication Financieele Dagblad, Deutsche Telekom is planning on selling the mobile unit to unnamed private equity investors that could be worth between €4 billion to €5 billion.
Any potential sale to KPN or Vodafone-Liberty Global joint venture VodafoneZiggo, the two other major telecoms operators in the Netherlands, has been ruled out on the grounds of fair market competition, says sources close to the matter.
The news follows previous rumours back in 2015, where Deutsche Telekom was reportedly in talks to sell T-Mobile Netherlands for a similar €4 billion to €5 billion. At the time, the deal was set to do towards reducing Deutsche Telekom’s debt and acquiring spectrum. Credit Suisse Group was said to advising on the matter, but the deal never came to fruition.
More recently, T-Mobile Netherlands and Tele2 Netherlands completed its merger combining to create a newly strengthened market competitor.
Under the terms of the agreement, Tele2 own 25% of the newly joined company while Deutsche Telekom retains a 75% majority share. In addition, Tele2 also receives a cash payment of €190 million.
