Benzinga | May 19, 2021 03:34PM EDT

Deutsche Telekom Eyeing Majority Stake In T-Mobile By Acquiring Softbank's Share: Bloomberg

* Deutsche Telekom AG (OTC: DTEGF) is targeting majority ownership in T-Mobile US Inc (NASDAQ: TMUS) by acquiring SoftBank Group Corp's (OTC: SFTBF) (OTC: SFTBY) 8% stake in the wireless carrier at a deal valued at $12 billion, Bloomberg reports.

* SoftBank became a co-owner of T-Mobile with Deutsche Telekom after the carrier acquired Sprint for $26.5 billion in 2020, as per Bloomberg.

* Deutsche Telekom presently holds a 43% stake in T-Mobile.

* T-Mobile stock has appreciated 215% in the last five years and is valued at close to $170 billion.

* Peers Verizon Communications Inc (NYSE: VZ) shares have gained 15%, and AT&T Inc (NYSE: T) lost 24% in the last five years.

* T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert announced plans to return $60 billion to the shareholders via share buyback between 2023 and 2025 from incremental cash flow savings following the Sprint Corp acquisition.

* However, the acquisition could pressurize the already high debt level of Deutsche Telekom, which remains heavily invested in next-generation 5G and fiber-optic networks.

* Price action: DTEGF shares traded lower by 6.82% at $20.37, SFTBF shares traded higher by 0.54% at $80.89, and TMUS shares traded lower by 0.47% at $134.36 on the last check Wednesday.

* Related content: Benzinga's Full Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Calendar