NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) Feb. 27, 2001--Standard&Poor's today placed its ratings on Deutsche Telekom AG (DTAG) and related entity on CreditWatch with negative implications (see list below). The CreditWatch placement follows public comments made by DTAG's chief executive officer, Dr. Ron Sommer, that bring into question the company's ongoing commitment to deleverage in a timely manner. During the week ended Feb. 23, 2001, Dr. Sommer told a German newspaper that DTAG would not pursue an IPO of T-Mobile, DTAG's cellular communications subsidiary, unless the likely valuation of these cellular assets improved substantially. This statement is contrary to earlier statements made to Standard&Poor's, and inconsistent with the deleveraging assumptions currently factored into the rating of
