BONN, Germany-Blackstone Group, a private investment group, has agreed to buy about 4.5 percent of Deutsche Telekom AG’s outstanding shares, the German-based operator announced.
Blackstone plans to purchase approximately 192 million shares from Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau, a German state-owned bank. According to DT, the transaction will result in the combined share of the German government and KfW decreasing to about 33 percent. As part of the deal, Blackstone will hold the acquired shares for at least two years and KfW has agreed not to sell any of its remaining shares for at least one year.
“We are very pleased to have gained in Blackstone a shareholder with demonstrated expertise in the telecommunications sector,” said Kai-Uwe Ricke, chief executive officer of DT. “This also implies a further broadening of the shareholder base of Deutsche Telekom.”
