One should not chickens before they hatch the day. But the noticeable relief of all those involved on Tuesday, the clear concessions to the Telekom plaintiffs and the urgent recommendations of the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court only point in one direction: After more than 20 years, the 17,000 civil lawsuits by disappointed small investors in the "T-Share" against the German Telecom to be terminated by comparisons. By the end of June 2022, the group wants to make offers to all plaintiffs and, according to the current annual report, has to pay around 78 million euros in compensation including hefty interest. In addition, he takes over the entire court and legal costs.
Where does the sudden generosity come from after Telekom and investors fought a legal war of positions over the years, in which the model case landed twice before the Federal Court of Justice? Even an industry giant like Telekom must first raise a high double-digit million sum. The focus is on finally getting rid of an unloved legacy. For nearly two decades, investor complaints have been passed on from one board of directors to the next. From a financial point of view, the timing of a comparison, almost nine months after the last BGH decision in the spring, is actually well chosen. Karlsruhe had affirmed a prospectus error in the third IPO in 2000 and that Telekom was at fault. With the help of a complex expert report, it would now have been the task of Telekomto research the buying motivation of every private investor. So it would have had to prove in 17,000 cases that the prospectus error played no role in buying the shares. According to the Frankfurt judiciary, that alone would have extended the proceedings by another five years - with considerable cost risks due to the interest.
Therefore, the only correct decision is to finally close the file.
But the narrative coined by the former CEO Ron Sommer that the T-Share will be “as secure as an inheritable supplementary pension” will remain a major flaw in the company's history.