Elliott Investment Management has built a substantial stake in Deutsche Telekom and is pushing the German company to forgo a potential full merger with T-Mobile US. Instead, Elliott is advocating for increased share buybacks as a means to enhance shareholder value. This activist campaign puts Elliott at odds with Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges, who has been pursuing a full combination of the two companies since at least April 2026, aiming to create the world's largest wireless operator by market capitalization.
Deutsche Telekom currently holds approximately a 53% stake in T-Mobile US. Elliott's intervention comes as Deutsche Telekom's shares have fallen about 9% in Frankfurt over the past year, resulting in a market value of approximately €138 billion ($160 billion). This underperformance relative to broader European equities provides Elliott with an argument that capital allocated to a large cross-border merger could be better returned directly to shareholders through buybacks.
The exact size of Elliott's stake in Deutsche Telekom has not been publicly disclosed. Under German securities regulations, investors are required to file once their position reaches or exceeds 3% of a company's shares. This development follows earlier reports, including one from Semafor in late July 2026, indicating that T-Mobile's executives had informed Deutsche Telekom they no longer supported the roughly $300 billion merger due to shareholder concerns and potential regulatory obstacles. U.S. regulators were anticipated to mandate that T-Mobile's revenue be invested domestically, which would complicate Deutsche Telekom's strategic rationale for the deal.
Elliott's activism in Europe is expanding, as evidenced by a Reuters report on September 1, stating the fund had also acquired a position in French industrial-gas group Air Liquide, where it is pushing for margin improvements. Bernstein analysts noted that Elliott's involvement in Air Liquide could increase pressure on management, with a potential share buyback announcement at the company's October capital markets day acting as a near-term catalyst. This strategy mirrors their approach with Deutsche Telekom.
Deutsche Telekom's market capitalization stands at around $157 billion, which is less than T-Mobile's $200 billion. A merger would have created the world's largest wireless operator by market value, surpassing China Mobile. The German carrier's CEO, Timotheus Hoettges, had previously stated in February that the company was evaluating ways to increase its stake in T-Mobile US.
