July 24, 2000: German telecommunications operator Deutsche Telekom AG not only faced possible government opposition to its proposed $50 billion purchase of U.S. telecom provider VoiceStream Wireless Corp., but also wary shareholders. At the time, DT was offering VoiceStream more than $13,000 per subscriber, making it the most expensive wireless buyout of its time and prompting shareholders to ask quesitons. For comparison's sake, British rival Vodafone paid about $4,000 a subscriber when it bought AirTouch only a few months earlier. In addition, shareholders worried about the size of the carrier. VoiceStream was the smallest of the nationwide providers, but it seemed as though DT was paying for one of the major carriers. Despite the shareholder concern, both companies approved the deal. In addition, thanks to the Vodafone-AirTouch deal, the government more or less had little choice but to approve DT's purchase. When the deal was completed the next year, DT rebranded the VoiceStream service T-Mobile USA. Of course, shareholder concern may have been right, considering T-Mobile USA remains the smallest national carrier behind Cingular, Verizon Wireless and Sprint.—Matthew Wurtzel
See story about shareholder concern
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