On a mission
It's often a sign that a downturn is over when corporate activity such as executive appointments and mergers/acquisitions starts to pick up. If the rumour mill over the weekend it so be believed, that activity is definitely on the up.
Earlier we reported the rumour that one of Intel's most senior executives is jumping ship. Alongside that, the Telegraph has reported that Deutsche Telekom (DT) - the owner of T-Mobile - has started to look into the acquisition of Sprint Nextel, which is the third largest mobile phone operator in the US.
This rumour comes hot on the heels of the news that T-Mobile is to combine its UK operations with those of rival Orange. It looks like DT CEO René Obermann is on a bit of a mission these days and its US operations have been struggling.
This proposed move would follow a not dissimilar logic to the UK merger with Orange - that size is the key to success in the mobile phone market and if you're not in the top two, you'll struggle. However, the move is still a long way from happening and DT has yet to confirm it's even considering it.
One move it has confirmed today is the acquisition of SAP's European external hosting business. Hosting support for SAP software applications of nearly 90 SAP customers will be transferred to DT's corporate customers arm - T-Systems. There will be no transfer of staff or fixed assets.
