T-Mobile USA Is Off the Auction Block…
…if it was ever on it. When T-Mobile USA’s parent company, Deutsche Telekom, was in the dregs of a financial meltdown, rumors abounded about how the telecom giant could snap out of the debt-induced malady. During that time, I and many others observed that the sale of the US subsidiary could be a fast way to make a buck, and lower the debt load. This rumor got even juicier when some suggested a major shakeup with Vodafone selling its stake in Verizon Wireless and taking ownership of the GSM T-Mobile unit. Well, put those rumors to bed. DT CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke announced today that the company is back into positive earnings, and on the path to recovery. In fact, to completely quash the rumors, the DT press release attributed the good financial news directly to the globalization strategy which offered valuable diversification and stabilized revenues. T-Mobile USA’s performance certainly was a gem in the crown, as the carrier is growing quickly with respect to revenues (1Q EBITDA $315M), subscribers (now over 10.8M), and geographic footprint (224M pops).
