Deutsche Telekom bid for BT does not add up

Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Hoettges often says Europe needs fewer, bigger telecommunications carriers that can invest in faster networks and better compete with Google and Facebook. Deutsche Telekom has a 12% stake in BT.

It is an oft-repeated mantra European telecom bosses use when justifying their deal spree of the past four years, during which they have snapped up rivals within countries to reduce competitive pressure and to combine fixed, mobile, and broadband services.

Yet so far they have all stopped short of big bang, cross-border deals, and for good reason: There is deep scepticism that such combinations would generate enough cost savings or revenue growth to justify the premium the sellers would command.