UPDATE 3-D. Telekom CFO quits to take on Arcandor top job

* CFO Eick to leave by end-February

* Eick to succeed outgoing Arcandor CEO

* Arcandor shares close up 13 pct

(Adds new job, updates share price)

By Nicola Leske and Nikola Rotscheroth

BERLIN, Dec 2 (Reuters) - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) Chief Financial Officer Karl-Gerhard Eick will resign from his post of nine years to take on the top job at struggling German retailer Arcandor (AROG.DE), industry sources told Reuters on Tuesday.

Deutsche Telekom said on Tuesday Eick would resign by end-February to join another company, confirming what sources had told Reuters earlier.

Three people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Eick would succeed Thomas Middelhoff, the flamboyant chief executive of Arcandor and former chief executive of media conglomerate Bertelsmann [BERT.UL].

Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. An Arcandor spokesman said: "It is an open secret that Middelhoff had only extended his mandate for a limited time. However, we do not comment on speculation."

Arcandor shares closed up 13.89 percent in Frankfurt at 2.05 euros. Deutsche Telekom stock was up 6.33 percent at 11 euros by market close, while Germany's bluechip DAX index ended the session up 3.12 percent.

Eick was one of the board members who did not have to leave when Rene Obermann became head of the company in November 2006.

While some said it was positive he stayed on as a sign of continuity, critics said Eick was part of the management team responsible for ambitious financial targets that later forced the company to issue a profit warning.

Eick, 54, who has held the post since January 2000, had been mentioned as a potential chief executive for the telecoms group several times but has always been passed over.

He has a reputation of being a calm and solid worker but also for being ambitious.

Eick began his career as a controller at carmaker BMW (BMWG.DE) and later worked at the privately-owned Haniel group before joining Deutsche Telekom.

Born in Ulm, in the Bavarian region of Swabia, Eick liked to quip that saving money was part of his nature.

He helped former Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Kai-Uwe Ricke get the group's debt under control in 2003 and 2004.

Stock in the Bonn-based group has dropped 31 percent this year but outperformed the German blue-chip index by 26 percent. (Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Andrew Macdonald)