France’s Iliad Said to Plan Bid for Bigger T-Mobile Stake

Reports say Iliad SA (ILD) is planning to bid for a bigger stake in Deutsche Telekom AG’s U.S. unit than it sought in July, as the French telecom carrier approaches a self-imposed deadline to reach a deal.

Iliad, which originally proposed buying 56.6 percent of T-Mobile US Inc. (TMUS), still intends to offer about $33 for each T-Mobile share for a significantly larger stake, said the people, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter. Controlled by billionaire entrepreneur Xavier Niel, Iliad has set a deadline of this month for reaching a preliminary agreement with Deutsche Telekom, the people said.

Deutsche Telekom (DTE), which owns just over 66 percent of T-Mobile, is in regular, informal contact with Iliad, and hasn’t decided yet whether a new offer for a larger stake would be sufficient, the people said. Iliad’s pitch will be that its offer for a larger stake at the same price will leave Deutsche Telekom more cash and a smaller remaining stake in T-Mobile, one person said.

Executives at Bonn-based Deutsche Telekom view at least $35 per share as a fairer price for T-Mobile, two people said.

T-Mobile gained 1.5 percent to $28.54 as of 1:25 p.m. in New York, reversing earlier losses and giving the company a market value of about $23 billion. The shares climbed as much as 4 percent in intraday trading.