His newfound caution kept him from getting too deeply entangled in the messy Qwest undefined - U.S. West ( USW ) merger early this spring. Deutsche Telekom declined to comment on the recent press reports. Since so many institutions were involved in the recent Deutsche Telekom share offering and bond issue, scads of observers also weren't allowed to go on the record, but " Sommer has been promising a deal in the U.S. for sometime now," according to one analyst from a major German asset management house. "It's too tough to call how things will eventually play out, but there are definitely good reasons for a deal with Sprint. I don't, however, think Sommer will rush anything." The same analyst said that although the political maneuvering in the U.S. Senate against any potential Deutsche Telekom bid for Sprint was a headache Sommer didn't need, the shenanigans of Hollings and his colleagues probably weren't insurmountable for Deutsche Telekom.