Deutsche Telekom reportedly in talks with Comcast about a T-Mobile sale

Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company, is reportedly in talks with Comcast regarding a sale of the wireless carrier. According to a report from Reuters citing an article out of Manager Magazin in Germany, Deutsche Telekom is not only in talks with Comcast, but also multiple other companies including satellite provider Dish Network. Out of the possible T-Mobile buyers, though, the report states that Comcast is the most attractive buyer as it is financially stronger and has the resources to purchase all shares of T-Mobile at one time.

Read more: T-Mobile’s largest shareholder reportedly not interested in Dish Network merger

Deutsche Telekom's plans to merge with Comcast may be holding T-Mobile back from any real progression

This news shouldn’t really come as a surprise, though. Just last week, we heard about the rumored T-Mobile/Dish Network acquisition, only to later find out that Deutsche Telekom wasn’t actually interested in the merger. As we explained previously, Timotheus Höttges, chief executive of T-Mobile’s parent company, would much rather merge with another wireless carrier such as Sprint, in hopes to become more attractive to Comcast in the long run. T-Mobile has tried to merge with Sprint in the past, but that deal was thankfully shot down by the FCC so we could keep our “four main carrier” ecosystem in effect. But now, according to this new report, it looks like Deutsche Telekom is skipping Sprint altogether and heading straight for a Comcast acquisition.

Although no official comments have been made by any of the involved parties, a “source familiar with Comcast’s thinking” told Ars Technica that Comcast is actually not interested in a T-Mobile acquisition. Ars says that the source asked to remain anonymous because “the company tries to avoid making official comments on rumored mergers.”

If the past is any indication as to what we can expect out of this rumor, Comcast will likely pass on the deal, if it was even presented in the first place. Even though the wireless carrier is proving itself successful in the United States, Deutsche Telekom’s unrealistic goals for T-Mobile seem to be holding it back from some major progression.