T-Mobile Can Stay Independent, Owner Deutsche Telekom Says

T-Mobile US, the Deutsche Telekom AG unit that has lost two suitors this year, can sustain itself as a standalone business, according to the German company’s chief executive officer.

Deutsche Telekom’s chances of exiting the US dimmed after the carrier rejected an $18 billion improved bid by France’s Iliad and Sprint withdrew from takeover talks in August over conditions of the deal and concern that regulators wouldn’t approve a combination of the third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers in the nation. “We are looking into the options, but nevertheless we have an independent, self-funding future for our activities in the US,” Timotheus Hoettges said. “It is a great business, it is a great perspective, we could have a lot of potential to realize in the future.” T-Mobile is likely to require billions of dollars of investments in network quality and customer acquisition in the coming years. Still, selling T-Mobile would eliminate a third of Deutsche Telekom’s revenue and cut off its only growing unit.