Brandes Investment owns 3 percent in D.Telekom

BERLIN, March 19 (Reuters) - Brandes Investment Partners holds 3.04 percent in German telecoms group Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), making it the company's third-biggest shareholder.

San Diego-based Brandes exceeded the 3 percent threshold on March 2, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

The German government owns around 30 percent of the telecom giant, while U.S. private equity firm Blackstone holds more than 4 percent.

A long-term investor focusing on a company's fundamentals, Brandes buys and hold stocks in all market environments in which it believes a share is trading at a discount to its estimated fair values. No stranger to Germany, Brandes was at one point Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE) second largest investor, accumulating a 10.7 percent voting stake in August 2004 before eventually selling the bulk of it by November 2006 shortly after a management reshuffle.

Deutsche Telekom shares lost 6.94 percent on Wednesday to 10.59 euros after a presentation meant to reassure investors about the outlook for its struggling fixed-line business was perceived by some as a profit warning.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske; Editing by Richard Hubbard)