Elliott Builds Stake in Deutsche Telekom and Pushes to Kill 300 Billion Dollar T-Mobile Merger

Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in Deutsche Telekom and is pressing the German carrier to abandon its proposed full merger with T-Mobile US, Bloomberg News reported on September 2. The activist investor wants Deutsche Telekom to pursue alternative ways to unlock shareholder value, including larger share buybacks, rather than proceed with a combination that had been championed by CEO Tim Hoettges since at least April 2026.

The proposed deal, valued at roughly 300 billion dollars, would have folded Deutsche Telekom's approximately 53% stake in T-Mobile US into a single holding company listed in both the US and Europe, creating the world's largest wireless operator by market capitalization. Elliott's opposition puts the fund directly at odds with Hoettges and adds pressure to a merger that had already been losing momentum: T-Mobile's own US executives had previously told Deutsche Telekom they no longer supported the combination, citing shareholder and potential regulatory concerns.

T-Mobile shares rose on the news, reflecting investor relief that a deal seen as potentially dilutive or complex for T-Mobile minority shareholders may not proceed. Deutsche Telekom's plans now face a significant obstacle with a well-capitalized activist on its register pushing for a different capital allocation strategy.