Over the last ten years, Deutsche Telekom AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:DTEGY) has been on a struggling mission to capitalize on its investment in American mobile service provider, T-Mobile.
The German company’s investment in the U.S. has been experiencing a steeper growth curve compared to its rivals in the few past financial years. However, the company has not yet managed to bring in more than the Deutsche’s original investment amount that the German company parted with in 2001.
However, things are looking more promising as T-Mobile plans to enter into a merger agreement with the second-largest satellite TV provider in the U.S. Looking back at Deutsche Telekom’s past, it has had some good and bad times, but the journey has been instrumental to the firm’s current position.
In the 1990s, the company tried to make a move into the international scene outside Germany but its efforts were futile. It had planned partnerships in Asia and Europe, but those efforts did not amount to much. In the year 2000, the firm prioritized entry into the American market under the leadership of CEO Ron Sommer.
IN 2001, Deutsche Telekom AG (ADR) (OTCMKTS:DTEGY) successfully acquired U.S service provider, VoiceStream for about $35 billion. At the time, Voicestream had 2.3 million wireless subscribers. The carrier was later renamed to T-Mobile in 2002.
At one point in 2009, Deutsche had considered selling T-Mobile because the mobile service provider was being outperformed by rival companies such as Verizon and AT&T. At the time, T-Mobile had increased its customer base to 34 million users.
In 2011, AT&T attempted to acquire T-Mobile for $39 billion but the U.S. Justice Department stopped the process. In 2013, T-Mobile was listed on NYSE after it absorbed a rival known as MetroPCS. In the same year, the company’s subscribers increased to 43 million.
In 2014, Sprint attempted to acquire the company but it abandoned the mission after a lot of discouragement. It was also the year that the idea of a merger between Dish and T-Mobile was born. Currently, the mobile service provider has 45 million subscribers and is worth $31 billion.
