Iliad said it will no longer pursue an acquisition of T-Mobile U.S. The company first floated an offer for the company in late July.
It proposed to acquire 56% of the company, but T-Mobile’s majority owner Deutsche Telekom rejected the bid. Iliad later put together more resources with the help of financiers and proposed to acquire 67% of the company for $36 per share. Iliad arrived at today’s decision “following exchanges with Deutsche Telekom and selected board members of T-Mobile US who have refused to entertain its new offer.” Deutsche Telekom has long sought to rid itself of T-Mobile, but has yet to successfully sell the company.
Iliad believed acquiring T-Mobile would have helped the combined entities realize $2 billion in annual cost savings, as well as given Iliad a toehold in the U.S. market.