MILAN (Standard&Poor's) Oct. 11, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings and outlook on Deutsche Telekom A.G. (DT; BBB+/Positive/A-2), Germany's dominant telecommunications services group, will not be affected by the latter's decision to pursue a statutory merger with its 74%-owned Internet service provider subsidiary T-Online International A.G. (not rated) "The merger makes strategic sense for DT, as the rapid growth of the German broadband market affects both DT's fixed-line (T-Com) and Internet service (T-Online) operations," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Guy Deslondes. "Broadband has become a critical business driver for the group. The transaction will fully eliminate the risk of conflicts between the two divisions and will enable DT to focus on market opportunities
