Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in Deutsche Telekom and is asking the German carrier to abandon a proposed $300 billion full combination with T-Mobile US, Bloomberg Law reported on September 3, 2026.

The activist fund, founded by Paul Singer in 1977 and managing about $69.7 billion as of June 30, 2024, wants Deutsche Telekom to drop the merger and use the capital for larger share buybacks. That puts Elliott on a collision course with Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges, who has been working to bring the two carriers under one roof.

What does the deal actually involve?

Deutsche Telekom controls about 54% of T-Mobile US, with the operator's 2026 proxy statement putting voting control at 54.5% as of March 31. A full merger would absorb T-Mobile US's public shareholders into a new structure and rank among the largest public-company transactions ever attempted, with a transaction value close to $300 billion.

Markets read Elliott's move as a signal that the deal is less likely. Deutsche Telekom shares rose 1.9% in early Frankfurt trading on September 3, while T-Mobile US closed up 2.82% at $187.30 in New York on September 2, according to MarketWatch data cited in the same reports.

Why are T-Mobile US's own executives opposed?

Elliott did not walk into a settled boardroom. Semafor reported in late July that T-Mobile US executives had told Deutsche Telekom they no longer supported the merger, citing shareholder resistance and likely regulatory conditions. Bloomberg Law later carried the same account.

The regulatory issue is the sharper problem. T-Mobile executives had been told US regulators would likely demand a guarantee that T-Mobile's American revenue remains reinvested in, or otherwise stays inside, the United States. That condition would blunt one of the central financial motives for Deutsche Telekom to absorb T-Mobile US: freer access to the US unit's cash flow.

How much pressure is management under?

The share-price backdrop makes the pitch harder. Barron's reported Deutsche Telekom shares were down about 9% over the past year, while T-Mobile US had fallen nearly 27%. Asking investors to support one of the largest deals in corporate history while both stocks slide is a difficult case to make.

Elliott's track record adds weight. Reuters noted the firm has run campaigns at Honeywell, Starbucks, Southwest Airlines, Phillips 66 and BHP. At Honeywell, Elliott pushed for a break-up; Honeywell later agreed to split into three separately listed companies. Elliott typically arrives with a narrow demand, a long time horizon and enough capital to keep management pinned to the question it would rather avoid.

What happens next?

If Deutsche Telekom drops the plan, T-Mobile US stays listed in the US under German control, and the parent can lean into buybacks or other capital returns. If Höttges presses ahead, he must persuade minority T-Mobile US holders, Deutsche Telekom investors and US regulators that a roughly $300 billion transaction is worth the cost, the political exposure and the limits Washington may place on the money.

Höttges has not abandoned the plan. He is now facing resistance from T-Mobile US's own management, pressure from a $69.7 billion activist and a market that rose when the merger looked less likely. A deal this size rarely dies in one clean moment, and the next test will come from how Deutsche Telekom's board responds to Elliott in the coming weeks.