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Deals

Deutsche Telekom CEO: European telecoms industry needs to consolidate

FILE PHOTO: Tim Hoettges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom AG, exits the Manhattan Federal Court following the first day in the T-Mobile/Sprint federal case in New York, U.S., December 9, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

(Reuters) - Europe’s telecoms industry needs to consolidate, Deutsche Telekom Chief Executive Tim Hoettges said on Friday, as the region’s 100 operators invest more in 5G networks at a time when revenue and profits are under pressure.

“The industry is in a dilemma that it can only escape through cost synergies,” Hoettges told a news conference, repeating earlier calls for consolidation. “I believe deeply that European consolidation is necessary.”

The Germany-based telecoms group is not in active merger talks, he added.

Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Maria Sheahan

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