FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Any merger that Deutsche Telekom (DE:DTEGn) may enter into in the United States must deliver real value in terms of synergies, its finance chief said when asked why it was proving so difficult to strike a deal with Sprint (N:S) or another party.
"It depends on how sure you can be to really get out the synergies you have on a piece of paper," Thomas Dannenfeldt told analysts on a call after Europe's biggest telecoms provider reported second-quarter earnings on Thursday.
Fourth-biggest U.S. wireless carrier Sprint said on Tuesday an announcement on merger talks should come in the "near future".
It has been exploring a merger with Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile US (O:TMUS) as well as with cable provider Charter Communications (O:CHTR).
Deutsche Telekom on Thursday repeatedly refused to comment on the current situation.
But Dannenfeldt said in-market consolidation did in general offer opportunities, and a mobile-to-mobile merger was the easiest way of creating synergies.
T-Mobile US has previously tried and failed to merge with U.S. network operators AT&T (N:T) and Sprint. It merged with Texas-based MetroPCS in 2014.
Deutsche Telekom has wavered at times over the years about its commitment to remaining in the U.S. market. T-Mobile US is now its primary growth and profit driver.