CEO Speculation Boosts Deutsche Telekom Stock

Shares in Deutsche Telekom rose on growing speculation that Chief Executive Ron Sommer will be replaced after leading an expansion that has saddled the telecom giant with a huge debt load. The stock closed up 6.8% on the Frankfurt exchange, which was down overall, and rose 73 cents to $11.10 on the NYSE. The shares held their gains even after the government, Telekom’s biggest shareholder with a 43% holding, denied a report it offered the job to a veteran auto executive.

Business magazine Wirtschaftswoche said Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder approached former Volkswagen Chief Executive Ferdinand Piech about the post Friday. Sommer would step down by Monday at the latest, the report said, citing unidentified sources.

A government spokesman said that Piech attended an event sponsored by VW at Schroeder’s office Friday, but that Telekom was not discussed. Volkswagen also denied that Piech, still a member of the company’s board, had been offered the job. A Telekom spokesman declined to comment.