Deutsche Telekom is considering buying out minority shareholders in T-Mobile US, a move that would fold the American carrier fully into the German group and create a telecom operator valued at roughly $260 billion, Yahoo Finance reported.

Such a transaction would complete a consolidation process that has already made T-Mobile US the single biggest contributor to Deutsche Telekom's revenue and earnings. Deutsche Telekom has raised its stake in the US operator in stages since T-Mobile's 2007 formation, and the American business now accounts for a substantially larger subscriber base than the German parent's entire European footprint.

The reported valuation of $260 billion for the combined entity puts Deutsche Telekom in the same bracket as the largest telecom groups globally, ahead of established rivals in Europe and comparable to converged giants in the US market. The scale matters for a simple commercial reason: US wireless generates far higher average revenue per user and returns than the group's European operations, where price competition and regulation suppress margins.

Any full takeover of T-Mobile US would require Deutsche Telekom to acquire the shares it does not already hold from public investors. That carries a significant price: T-Mobile US trades at a premium to European telecom stocks, and minority buyouts of this size typically require a control premium on top of market value. Financing the deal would likely involve substantial new debt at a moment when interest rates remain elevated, a factor that has discouraged large-scale telecom M&A in Europe since 2021.

The regulatory picture in the US has shifted in ways that favor the transaction's feasibility. The Federal Communications Commission under the current administration approved T-Mobile's earlier combinations, including the 2020 Sprint merger that took years of litigation to clear, and has since signaled a lighter touch on telecom consolidation. A full buyout by an existing controlling shareholder, rather than a horizontal merger with a rival, would not reduce the number of national wireless competitors and therefore presents a thinner antitrust question than the Sprint deal did.

On the German side, Deutsche Telekom's existing control of T-Mobile US means a full takeover would change the ownership structure rather than the competitive landscape, limiting the scope for regulatory objection in Europe.

For T-Mobile US minority shareholders, the prospect of a buyout bid would come after a sustained run of subscriber and financial growth following the Sprint integration. The operator has used its mid-band 5G spectrum position to expand coverage and add postpaid customers, results that have lifted its market capitalization and, by extension, the cost of any offer Deutsche Telekom might make.

The report did not specify a timeline for a decision, a proposed price, or financing arrangements. Deutsche Telekom has previously stated its intent to increase its T-Mobile US holding over time, and executives have framed full ownership as a question of when conditions allow, not whether the strategy points in that direction.

If Deutsche Telekom proceeds, the transaction would rank among the largest telecom deals on record and would set the benchmark for how European incumbents value their American assets. If market conditions or financing costs intervene, the group's stated policy of gradual stake increases remains the fallback path it has followed for more than a decade.