Vodafone to buy T-Mobile?

Vodafone is rumoured to be looking at buying T-Mobile in a move that would leave it with a 40 per cent share of the mobile market.

A report published today in the Financial Times suggests the move, citing sources close to the activity.

The estimated value of T-Mobile is between 2.5 billion and 3.4 billion however, obtaining it would lead to a large rise in market share for Vodafone, meaning regulators could well stop the deal before it goes through.

T-Mobile has struggled recently, reporting poor quarterly results. German parent Deutsche Telekom has also appointed JPMorgan to help it assess its options and move the company forward.

IT PRO contacted Vodafone but it did not respond to our request for comment at the time of publication.

The company also made no official comment to the FT but the paper reported: "people familiar with the situation said the company was examining the merits of making an offer for T-Mobile UK, or setting up a joint venture."

IT PRO also contacted T-Mobile but it declined to comment.

At present, Vodafone's market share stands at 25 per cent with O2 slightly ahead on 27 per cent.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.