Merged T-Mobile U.S. to close valuation gap on Big Two: Deutsche Telekom CEO

BONN, Germany (Reuters) - The merger between T-Mobile US and Sprint is within reach, the head of its main owner Deutsche Telekom said, forecasting that the combined business would quickly close a valuation gap on market leaders AT&T and Verizon.

Highlighting the positive market reaction after a New York judge last week dismissed a lawsuit brought by more than a dozen U.S. states trying to block the deal, CEO Tim Hoettges said the 'new' T-Mobile would have a market value of around $120 billion.

That compares to $274 billion for AT&T and $242 billion for Verizon, he added in remarks prepared for a news conference on Wednesday. "That is a difference of around $120 billion. I see no reason why this cannot be reduced considerably," he said.

The three main wireless carriers would have similar customer numbers of between 140 million and 150 million, he added: "That puts us on an equal footing and in a position to ramp up attacks on the competition."

(Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Michelle Martin)

Stocks treated in this article : Deutsche Telekom AG, T-Mobile US, SoftBank Corp