Deutsche Telekom announces the holding of a meeting while T-Mobile and the Sprint contract are about to be approved

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Deutsche Telekom DTEG.n.DE has called a management meeting on Wednesday in anticipation of regulatory approval by the United States of the proposed merger of its US group T-Mobile (TMUS.O) unit with rival Sprint (S.N), according to the business daily Handelsblatt.

A meeting to inform Deutsche Telekom's supervisory board about the US strategy was scheduled at 10:15 am (08:15 GMT), Handelsblatt reported.

According to anonymous sources, officials from the US Department of Justice (DoJ) were supposed to agree to the $ 26 billion deal after months of negotiations to resolve competition concerns raised by antitrust laws.

T-Mobile, 63% owned by Deutsche Telekom, and Sprint, controlled by the Japanese company Softbank (9984.T) offered a series of concessions, including the divestment of T-Mobile's pre-paid Boost brand and a slice of spectrum to alleviate DoJ concerns over market dominance.

The merger would reduce from four to three the number of market players, which would leave consumers less choice and higher prices.

To remedy this, the parties had conversations with Dish (DISH.O) to allow the cable TV company to enter the mobile market, but the talks drag on as both parties vie for restrictions on the sale of badets.

Deutsche Telekom was not immediately available for comment.

The DoJ has asked T-Mobile US and Sprint Corp earlier this month to reach an agreement by the end of the week to sell badets to be sold as a condition of their merger, or facing a legal action to cancel the transaction. .

In June, a group of US Attorneys General filed a lawsuit in federal court in New York to block the merger, saying it would cost consumers more than $ 4.5 billion a year.

The complaint is supported by the Communications Workers of America union which says the deal would result in heavy job losses.