Deutsche Telekom is a Germany-based company that provides integrated telecommunication services. It operates through five segments: Germany, United States, Europe, Systems Solutions, and Group Development. The Germany segment provides fixed-network and mobile telecommunications services to consumers and business customers. The United States segment provides telecommunications services in the United States market; and the Europe segment offers fixed-network and mobile operations of the national companies in Greece, Romania, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Slovakia, and Austria.
IPO
A major turning point in the world of telecommunications took place in November 1996, when Deutsche Telekom went public. It was the largest IPO in history and the capstone of years of intense effort by Goldman Sachs to establish a presence in the German market.
The company's offering marked a significant step in the development of an Anglo-Saxon shareholder culture. It was also the first telecommunications company to be listed on the Frankfurt and New York stock exchanges, as well as the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
It was the largest ever IPO and it was oversubscribed five times. Shares traded at nearly 20 percent above the issue price on their first day of trading.
In addition to its traditional services in Germany, the company provides telecommunications services throughout the rest of Europe and the United States. Its businesses include fixed network and broadband, mobile telephony, and information technology services.
Today, the company is one of the world's leading telecommunications companies with operations in more than 50 countries and a broad range of products and services. It has a worldwide network of around 248 million wireless and 26 million wireline customers.
The company has been in the forefront of telecommunications innovation, investing extensively in digital technologies to develop innovative new products and services for its customers. Examples include the Internet of Things, 5G technology, video conferencing, and artificial intelligence.
For a company like Deutsche Telekom, it is important to have a diverse product portfolio that appeals to different kinds of users. The company is also known for acquiring and selling companies to generate growth and streamline operations.
Despite its success, the company has faced several challenges in the past few years. It has lost customers to larger rivals, including AT&T and Verizon Communications Inc VZ.N, and it has also experienced a drop in revenue and profits.
However, the company's management has made efforts to turn its fortunes around, launching new business models and making strategic acquisitions. It is a leader in the telecommunications industry and it continues to seek ways to grow its business and create value for shareholders.
Mergers and Acquisitions
Deutsche Telekom is a diversified telecommunications company with a strong position in Europe and a booming US business. It operates in a number of different sectors, such as payments and commercial real estate tech.
In the US, the company is primarily focused on mobile services. Its subsidiary T-Mobile USA has an excellent record of growth and is a significant competitor to AT&T and Verizon. In addition, it owns Sprint (NYSE:S), which is set to become a major player in the U.S. telecom industry once the merger is complete in 2019.
The company has not made many major acquisitions, but it has done a few small ones over time. These smaller deals, such as the purchase of a Romanian carrier, the sale of T-Mobile Netherlands and its acquisition of Austria’s Telecom Austria, have improved its market position and scale.
Its US telco operations, T-Mobile USA and T-Mobile International, have been growing at very strong rates. These companies have a large customer base and are expected to continue expanding.
T-Mobile US is the second largest wireless service provider in the United States with a customer base of 120 million, behind Verizon. It has a very competitive pricing model and a great reputation in the industry.
However, the stock has not performed well in recent months. This is largely due to the fact that many investors are not aware of the fact that the German government owns 57 percent of the company. It has been criticized by a few legislators who think that the government should reduce its holding before the deal can be completed.
As a result, the stock has been down with other European stocks. If the Euro continues to weaken, this would likely help the stock and also its U.S. assets, which have been irrationally punished by European investors because they are included in a European stock.
To counter this, the company has been increasing its dividend and repurchasing some of its own shares, which are now trading at about a 50% discount to their value. These dividend increases and the repurchases should allow for further growth.
Shareholders
One of the largest shareholders in deutsche telekom stock is the German government and its agency, Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau (KfW). KfW owns 17.3 percent of the company's shares. It has been buying more shares and reducing its stake in a series of transactions.
Another large shareholder is the United States investment group Blackstone. It purchased 4.5 percent of deutsche telekom stock for $3.3 billion. It is hoping that the purchase will help the company achieve its long-term financial goals and boost shareholder value, according to the company's announcement.
It also plans to use the money to fund future dividend increases. The dividends are a key part of the company's plan to reinvest in new technologies and networks.
The company also recently rolled out an overhaul of its corporate strategy to focus on digitalization and adapting its business models to the changing needs of customers. The changes will make it a software company that sells telecommunication services, rather than just a hardware manufacturer.
This is a big shift from the days when telecommunications networks were made up of monolithic blocks of network elements. Today, companies like DT are disaggregating their technology and moving it into the cloud. This allows them to connect with third-party networks and use their infrastructure to provide telecommunications services.
In the case of telecommunications, this involves billing-software and other backend systems. These backend systems are responsible for collecting and analyzing customer data to make pricing decisions.
If these systems are not able to comply with GDPR, will they be subjected to enforcement action or sanctions by U.S., EU, or German authorities? If not, will they be the target of new private actions for fraud and/or breach of contract?
To protect its data, deutsche telekom stock has "binding corporate rules" that it has promised to abide by. These rules are "binding" on all of the company's subsidiaries and any of its other companies that can be required to comply with them or have already adopted them on a voluntary basis.
But what if deutsche telekom stock's subsidiary T-Mobile USA doesn't subscribe to these "binding" corporate privacy rules? Does it still have to comply with the "binding" rules, or is there something in the corporate law that prevents it from doing so?
Dividends
One of the coolest perks of being a shareholder of this German company is the opportunity to participate in its annual dividend payout. The company pays out an impressively large sum each year, and it has a long and distinguished history of making its shareholders happy. Despite its size, the company manages to stay on top of its game thanks to some innovative corporate strategies and a healthy dose of luck. In a nutshell, there's a reason why this stock has been a KfW staple for so long. The company is also one of the few surviving German telecoms. If you're on the hunt for a good value telecommunications stock, deutsche telekom should be at the top of your list. You'll be rewarded with top-notch service and competitive paycheques, not to mention a hefty chunk of the local economy.
After all, it's not every day that you get a free piece of the country's largest phone company, let alone one of the most innovative and coveted German telecommunications companies in the business.