LONDON (Standard&Poor's CreditWire) May 27, 1999--Standard&Poor's today removed its long-term ratings on Deutsche Telekom AG (DT) from CreditWatch with positive implications, where they were placed on April 22, 1999. At the same time, Standard&Poor's affirmed its double-'A'-minus long-term corporate credit and senior unsecured debt ratings, and its 'A-1'-plus short-term corporate credit ratings on DT. The outlook is stable. The CreditWatch placement followed DT's announcement of its merger discussions with Telecom Italia SpA (TI). The rating affirmation follows the announcement that Olivetti SpA has obtained approval to acquire 51.868% of the ordinary voting shares of TI. The announcement effectively ends recent merger discussions between DT and TI, and therefore eliminates the near-term possibility that DT
