The prospect of a bidding war for telecoms giant O2 receded today after the owner of T-Mobile ruled out joining the race.

Deutsche Telekom AG plans capital investments of around €7bn this year, up from 2003's €6.2bn, and also has at its disposal an additional €1.5bn for use in "specific investment opportunities," according to Karl-Gerhard Eick said, the company's chief financial officer .