Investing.com -- Deutsche Telekom shares slid more than 3% on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the German telecoms giant is pushing to merge with its U.S. subsidiary T-Mobile.

The decline was the sharpest for the stock since late April, when it was reported that the two companies were in discussions about a potential combination. Deutsche Telekom currently holds a majority stake in T-Mobile U.S., which has grown into the group’s dominant earnings engine, contributing nearly two-thirds of total revenue.

According to the Journal, Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges is leading the push. To complete a deal, he would need to win over T-Mobile’s minority shareholders, who are said to be skeptical of a transaction that would give them exposure to Deutsche Telekom’s lower-margin international operations.

He would also need to secure support from the German government, which holds a 28% stake in Deutsche Telekom, before navigating a complex regulatory process that could involve national security reviews in both Germany and the United States, the report said.

Höttges has at times had to balance competing political pressures on both sides of the Atlantic. T-Mobile has cultivated ties with the Trump administration, while decisions made in that context — including the company’s withdrawal from diversity, equity and inclusion commitments last year, a move that drew thousands of complaint emails from German shareholders — have created friction at home, the Journal said.

The CEO is expected to retire at the end of 2028 and is said to want the merger completed and a suitable successor in place before he steps down.