Deutsche Telekom has called in banking advisers to study a possible multi-billion dollar bid for Sprint Nextel, the third-largest mobile phone operator in the US.

By Rupert Neate and Jonathan Russell / Published: 7:36PM BST 12 Sep 2009

René Obermann has pledged to reverse the fortunes of T-Mobile UK and T-Mobile US The company's decision to call in Deutsche Bank comes hot on the heels of the agreed tie-up of its struggling T-Mobile UK business with Orange to create Britain's biggest mobile phone firm.

Sources said Deutsche Telekom (DT) could submit a bid for Sprint, which has a market valuation of $10.6bn (£6.3bn), within the next few weeks.

René Obermann, chief executive of DT, which has a market value of €41.5bn (£36.3bn), has pledged to reverse the fortunes of T-Mobile UK and T-Mobile US.

With T-Mobile UK last week placed in a joint venture with France Telecom's Orange, Mr Obermann is believed to now be focusing his efforts on the struggling US operation.

Mr Obermann blamed the poor performance of the company's UK and US businesses for dragging DT to a €1.1bn first-quarter loss. At the time he said the problems in the US were "part structural", raising speculation that the company was exploring a deal.

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