Deutsche Telekom’s (DT) CEO said the operator is “not in the mood” to sell T-Mobile US, although he didn’t dismiss the possibility completely, especially in the case of changes in the US regulatory environment following the election of a new president, Reuters reported.

DT has a 65 per cent stake in T-Mobile US and has tried twice in the past five years to sell it, coming up against regulatory objections both times.

However, since then, the US operator has been on a strong upward trajectory: in Q3 2016 revenue surged 17 per cent to €8.28 billion with almost 2 million new customers. Some analysts believe T-Mobile US is DT’s “only opportunity to grow”, the Reuters report said.

According to CEO Tim Hoettges, speaking at a Morgan Stanley event: “We are not in the mood of selling the business. We are not in the mood of: ‘Oh where is the partner we need?'”.

“We are now open to how we could create something beyond our execution, which is creating value,” he said.

However, he also said that “with Trump, the regulatory environment might change. Everybody is expecting this. At least the chance is bigger than it was under the Democrats”.

“I am not afraid about whether a (pure) mobile player can survive in this environment. If there are any options, we are going to consider,” he added.

It should be noted that T-Mobile US’ total revenue is significantly higher than its parent’s domestic business. The German unit’s revenue (fixed as well as mobile) in Q3 was €5.6 billion, a decline of 0.8 per cent.