D.Telekom up on talk of buyer for UK ops

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Shares in Deutsche Telekom rose on Tuesday as traders pointed to talk that the German telecom company may have found a buyer for its UK mobile operations.

"I've heard talk that Telekom found a potential buyer, but I haven't heard a name being mentioned on the market," said a Frankfurt-based trader.

Deutsche Telekom could not immediately be reached for comment.

At 0805 GMT (9:05 a.m. British time), shares in Deutsche Telekom were 2.9 percent higher at 8.38 euros, having risen as high as 8.39 euros earlier Tuesday morning.

Deutsche Telekom said as it released first-quarter results last week that it was still considering options for its poorly-performing T-Mobile UK arm because "a consolidation would be good" for that business.

T-Mobile ranks fourth in terms of subscribers behind the two UK players -- Vodafone and Telefonica's 02.

Market experts have said any tie-up would likely be challenged by competition regulators.

Orange, part of France Telecom, is no. 3 in the UK and is often mentioned as the most logical combination.

(Reporting by Tyler Sitte in Frankfurt and Blaise Robinson in Paris)