Voicestream: The Saga Continues
There is no question about it, Voicestream is in play. This isn’t about industry consolidation, it’s about Deutsche Telekom CEO Ron Sommer saving his job. Sommer has accumulated over $60 billion in debt for DT since taking over. Voicestream is by far the most controversial of his acquisitions. If Sommer can get rid of this hot potato, he might be able to save his job. First it was reported that AT&T and Voicestream were in talks. And now Cingular CEO Stephen Carter has expressed an interest in Voicestream. If Cingular bought VS, not only would they get much needed spectrum, they have a shot of surpassing Verizon as the largerst US mobile operator. If that happens and DT is an equal parter or majority partner in the combined company Sommer’s bet on Voicestream will look much smarter.
