T-Mobile Rejects Initial Iliad Bid – WSJ

Quelle surprise! T-Mobile has reportedly rejected French operator Iliad's surprise initial bid to take control of the US operator.

The Wall Street Journal quotes sources Tuesday saying that T-Mobile US Inc. considers the bid "dead on arrival" and has refused to open its books to Iliad (Euronext: ILD) for due diligence.

Iliad made a surprise $15 billion bid for T-Mobile last Thursday. Given the bigger market cap of T-Mobile, the bid always seemed unlikely to get much traction. (See Iliad Offers $15B for a Stake in T-Mobile and Eurobites: Iliad Slumps on T-Mobile Bidding Battle Fears.)

Reuters had earlier reported that T-Mobile's parent, Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT), was looking for more money from the proposed deal. (See Eurobites: Iliad Needs to Up Its T-Mobile Bid .)

— Dan Jones, Mobile Editor, Light Reading