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Telekom back on U.S. trail
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June 15, 2000: 6:08 a.m. ET
CEO Sommer points to 'more than one' US buy with $95B war chest
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Deutsche Telekom signaled its intention to pursue a number of U.S. acquisitions after Chief Executive Ron Sommer said its  100 billion ($95.5 billion) war chest meant no U.S. telecom company was beyond its reach.
Sommer said during a visit to New York Wednesday that Telekom still planned to break into the U.S. market. The German company failed in March to buy Qwest Communications International and US West, which were in the process of merging.
Media reports have linked Telekom with virtually every major player in the U.S. telecom market, from SBC Communications (SBC: Research, Estimates) to Bell Atlantic Corp. (BLA: Research, Estimates) and cable operator Global Crossing (GBLX: Research, Estimates).
 "The market [value] of Deutsche Telekom versus any American potential acquisition candidate means that nobody is out of reach," Sommer told a news conference.
Sommer declined to name Telekom's possible targets, but said it would take more than one deal to meet its aspirations for U.S. expansion. The company's focus in the U.S. would mirror its priorities in Europe, he said, namely wireless communications, consumer Internet services, data and Internet services for business, and network access.
"There's no potential candidate in the United States who covers all of our needs," Sommer said. "Every candidate means (there's) work left (to do)."
Telekom (FDTE) shares were 1.3 percent higher at 68.4 in Frankfurt Thursday, valuing the company at 207 billion.
European ties crumble
Deutsche Telekom's attention has turned to the United States after failing to secure a large cross-border European link-up amid rapid consolidation in the region's telecom industry. Although it last year bought One2One, the U.K.'s No. 4 mobile-phone operator, its long-time alliance with France Telecom (PFTE) collapsed after the German company tried and failed to merge with Telecom Italia.
Sommer said the company would balance its push into the United States with its need to build its operations in Europe.
"In the medium term, there will be only a few global players in telecom, and a position in the U.S. is a crucial part of that - [but] I'm not saying Europe is more important or less important," he said.
Telekom's previous attempts to expand in the United States have been hampered by its participation in Global One, an international partnership with France Telecom and Sprint Corp. (FON: Research, Estimates). The French bought out its venture partners in January.
"A year ago, nothing was possible because of Global One," said Sommer. "Now, strategically we have no position in the [United States], but we have currencies with which we can make acquisitions."
Telekom can use stock worth up to 100 million for acquisitions without shareholder approval. Any spending above that level would require a shareholder vote.
The company also said this week it plans to issue $8 billion of bonds. Analysts said the proceeds could be used to fund a possible acquisition along with third-generation mobile telephone licenses: One2One in April agreed to pay the U.K. government £4 billion for a license to offer advanced cellular services in Britain, and Telekom will soon take part in an auction for a similar license for Germany, which may be even dearer.
-- from staff and wire reports 
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