About Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom AG (DE0005557508, FWB: [http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/isg/gdb_navigation/home?module=InOverview_Equi℘=DE0005557508&wpbpl;=FSE&foldertype;=_Equi〈=en&wplist;=DE0005557508×pan;=1d&view;=InOverview_Equi DTE], DT, DEU, 9496) (English translation: German Telecom) (abbreviated DTAG) is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Germany and in the EU.

Deutsche Telekom was formed in 1996 as the former state-owned monopoly Deutsche Bundespost was privatized. As of 2005, the German government still holds a 15.7% stake in company stock directly, and another 14% through the government bank KfW. 4.5% of the company is owned by the Private equity firm Blackstone Group.

The former CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke was ousted by the board of the company because of slumping sales and the flight of customers to cheaper competitors. More than 1.5 million customers changed to rival companies during 2005 and 2006 and as a result, Deutsche Telekom laid off more than 30,000 workers. The new CEO was announced on November 12 2006 after a long-night board session: René Obermann, the former CEO of T-Mobile International.

The predecessor of Ricke, Ron Sommer chairman of Deutsche Telekom since 1995 to 2002, was ousted because of the drop of the share of the Deutsche Telekom in 2002. On the height of the "dot-com-bubble", the share was over €100 and fell significantly to about €12/share during a couple of months. Sommer said that "he had some opinion-based difficulties between him and board of the Telekom".