A full buyout of T-Mobile US by its German parent Deutsche Telekom would rank as the biggest merger and acquisition deal the world has ever seen, according to a Reuters explainer published on the transaction's mechanics.

Deutsche Telekom already controls a majority stake in T-Mobile US, which gives the Bonn-based group consolidated ownership of America's second-largest wireless carrier. The open question the Reuters analysis addresses is not whether Deutsche Telekom wants full ownership, but how a purchase of the remaining minority shares could be structured, financed and cleared.

The scale is what sets this apart. T-Mobile US carries a market capitalization well into the hundreds of billions of dollars, so any offer for the free float would dwarf previous telecom records and compete with the largest takeovers in corporate history across all sectors.

Why does Deutsche Telekom want more?

The German operator spent years rebuilding its T-Mobile US position after selling down stock following the 2020 Sprint merger. It has since bought shares back steadily, using T-Mobile's own dividends and its cash flow to fund the creeping takeover.

Full ownership would hand Deutsche Telekom the entirety of T-Mobile US earnings at a moment when the American business generates the bulk of group profit. Europe, by contrast, returns thin margins in fragmented markets, which makes the US unit the group's engine.

How could the deal be structured?

The Reuters explainer walks through the practical routes a buyout of the minority could take:

• a direct cash offer to public shareholders for the shares Deutsche Telekom does not already hold;
• a share-based exchange that would fold T-Mobile US entirely into the German parent;
• a squeeze-out of remaining minority owners once Deutsche Telekom crosses legal ownership thresholds under German and US rules.

Each path carries different financing demands. A pure cash offer for the minority stake would require tens of billions of dollars, which Deutsche Telekom would need to raise against its balance sheet or fund over time.

What stands in the way?

Regulation is the first hurdle. A move from majority control to full ownership does not change who runs the network, so US antitrust scrutiny of the kind that shaped the Sprint deal would likely be narrower this time. German stock-market rules on minority shareholders, plus US securities processes, form the other compliance layer the explainer sets out.

Financing is the second constraint. T-Mobile US's valuation has climbed since the Sprint integration, so the cost of the remaining shares grows with every quarter the buyout is delayed. That arithmetic cuts both ways: waiting raises the price, but it also lets Deutsche Telekom accumulate stock through ongoing buyback programs at market prices.

What comes next?

Deutsche Telekom has set no formal timetable for a full takeover, and the Reuters explainer presents the transaction as a question of how rather than if. Investors will watch the pace of share purchases and any statement from chief executive Tim Höttges on the remaining stake, with the buyout expected to advance through continued accumulation before any single headline offer materializes.