The Wall Street Journal reported today that Deutsche Telekom AG is mulling a bid for Sprint Nextel.

Currently, Sprint Nextel is the third-largest cell phone provider in the U.S., while Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile is the fourth-largest.

If the buyout were completed, the combined cell phone assets of Sprint Nextel and Deutsche Telekom would top both AT&T and Verizon, who currently hold down the top-two positions in the U.S. market.

The Wall Street Journal story said that the negotiations were in a preliminary stage and that an actual bid could be weeks or months away.

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