File photo of a view of the headquarters of Comcast on JFK Boulevard in Philadelphia, Pa.TOM MIHALEK/Reuters
Deutsche Telekom AG shares rose as much as 2.8 per cent in Frankfurt after Manager Magazin reported that Comcast Corp. is interested in a deal with the German company's T-Mobile US unit.
Deutsche Telekom is holding discussions with multiple parties about T-Mobile, Manager Magazin said, citing people it didn't identify. While no decision has been made, Deutsche Telekom's management prefers Comcast because it's financially stronger and could handle a complete takeover, it said.
A spokesman for Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. A representative for Philadelphia-based Comcast couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
T-Mobile shares rose as much as 3 per cent in early trading, before the U.S. markets opened. Deutsche Telekom traded 1.8 per cent higher at 15.31 euros at 1:44 p.m. in Frankfurt. T– Mobile, which is the fourth-largest U.S. mobile-phone company and is about 66 per cent owned by Deutsche Telekom, has a market value of $31.5-billion (U.S.).
In April, Comcast dropped its bid to buy Time Warner Cable Inc., which has since agreed to be acquired by Charter Communications Inc. for $55-billion. Owning T-Mobile would help Comcast offer TV, Internet, mobile and wireline service in one package – a "quadruple play" that peers in Europe have already been moving toward.
Dish Network Corp. is continuing slow-moving talks to acquire T-Mobile and those talks haven't advanced substantially since last September, people with knowledge of the matter said this month.