TMUS Stock Rises After Activist Investor Elliott Urges Parent To Drop Merger Talk

• Elliott instead wants Deutsche Telekom to pursue other ways to unlock value, including larger share buybacks, the report said.
• The idea of combining first surfaced in April. By July-end, Semafor reported that T-Mobile’s management told Deutsche Telekom it no longer backs the transaction. 
• While Deutsche Telekom is larger in absolute terms, T-Mobile posted stronger percentage growth in service revenue, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), and free cash flow in 2025.

Shares of T-Mobile US closed about 3% higher on Wednesday after a report that activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in parent Deutsche Telekom and wants the company to drop a potential combination with its U.S. wireless unit.

Bloomberg, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, reported that Paul Singer-led Elliott instead wants Deutsche Telekom to pursue other ways to unlock value, including larger share buybacks. Elliott’s exact stake was not disclosed.

The Deal That Never Quite Closed

The combination idea first surfaced in April, when Bloomberg reported that Deutsche Telekom — which owns a majority of T-Mobile, later disclosed at 54.3% as of mid-July — was weighing a new holding company that would make a stock bid for both groups. The combined company would have been jointly owned by existing investors, could have sought listings in the United States and Europe, and would have ranked as the world’s largest wireless operator by market value. Talks were described as preliminary. Any deal would have needed political backing, including a significant German base and U.S. investment commitments.

By late July, T-Mobile’s U.S. executives told Deutsche Telekom they no longer supported a proposed $300 billion combination, Semafor reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Executives were no longer confident non-controlling shareholders would approve it, and they had been told U.S. regulators would likely require T-Mobile’s domestic revenue to remain in the United States. Semafor said the talks had stalled. Investors at the time treated the report more as relief than a setback.

While Deutsche Telekom is larger in absolute terms—incorporating its German, European, and Systems Solutions businesses alongside T-Mobile—T-Mobile posted stronger percentage growth in service revenue, earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA), and free cash flow in 2025. That disparity fueled investor concerns about combining the faster-growing U.S. wireless business with its slower-growing parent.

How Did TMUS Retail Traders React?

On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around TMUS stock remained ‘neutral’ over the past 24 hours, while message volume was ‘high.’

TMUS stock has fallen 8% year-to-date. 

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