| A highly-placed company source said the valuation of the deal, pegged around $10 billion, was a major hurdle, as Deutsche Telekom was only seeking a "strategic" partner to help expand T-Systems internationally and not the sale of the unit. AFX had reported that T-Systems Chief Executive Lothar Pauly was categorical that "a complete sale ... is not our goal". |
| The Tata group was reportedly studying the books of Deutsche Telekom's T-Systems unit and planning the deal through the European unit of TCS. T-Systems is one of the smallest units of Deutsche Telekom. It had reported a revenue of ¤12.5 billion (about Rs 73,000 crore) last year and has a total workforce of over 55,000. |
| However, when contacted, a TCS spokesperson in Mumbai said the report of any talks was baseless and the company did not comment on speculations. Officials from T-Systems or its parent company Deutsche Telekom could not be immediately contacted for comments. |
| The report made news, as it was touted as another big deal after Tata Steel's Corus acquisition. |
| TCS had reported a consolidated revenue of about Rs 13,500 crore ($2.97 billion) in 2005-06, which is below T-Systems' annual revenue in 2006. The Tatas also have a strong presence in the domestic telecom sector through their companies, Tata Teleservices and VSNL. Deutsche Telekom had reported an annual revenue of over $61.35 billion (about Rs 2,75,000 crore) in 2006. |
| Deutsche Telekom is an integrated telecom operator, while its wholly-owned subsidiary T-Systems is a leading provider of information and communication technology services with presence across more than 20 countries. T-Systems' portfolio includes a full range of consulting and outsourcing services. It also provides telecom services to international carriers and corporate customers in sectors across the board. |
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