Internet service provider T-Online International AG said Thursday that a German federal court has cleared the way for its absorption by majority owner Deutsche Telekom AG, dismissing appeals against the deal.
The Federal Court of Justice rejected as "inadmissible" complaints against a Frankfurt court's ruling that pending lawsuits by shareholders should not block any registration of the deal, T-Online said in a statement.
Following the decision, "the merger will take effect once it has been entered in the commercial registers of both companies," it added.
T-Online is Europe's largest ISP and has more than 13.5 million subscribers.
Deutsche Telekom had spun T-Online off, but retained a 74 percent stake.
In October 2004, it decided to buy out the remaining stake for nearly
3 billion euros from minority shareholders and bring the Internet provider back into its T-Com unit.Deutsche Telekom offered 8.99 euros ($11.56) per share for the outstanding T-Online shares, well under the shares' issue price of 27 euros in early 2000.
More than 20 shareholders sued against Deutsche Telekom's buyout offer, saying they were treated unfairly and demanding a higher buyout offer.
On Thursday, Deutsche Telekom shares rose 1.3 percent to 12.84 euros ($16.51) on the Frankfurt exchange. T-Online shares dropped 2.25 percent to 7.40 euros ($9.52).
Copyright 2006 The Associated Press.
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