BONN -- A German court last week dealt Deutsche Telekom AG a setback in its effort to reacquire the piece of T-Online International AG that it doesn't already own.

The Darmstadt District Court rejected the Bonn-based firm's purchase of the remaining 26 percent of T-Online until pending shareholder lawsuits are cleared.

Darmstadt-based T-Online was spun out of Deutsche Telekom in 1996 under its former Online Pro Dienste moniker. Deutsche Telekom remained the major shareholder of the firm, which changed its name to T-Online in 2000.

Just over a year ago, Deutsche Telekom mounted an effort to buy the remaining stake in T-Online for 3 billion euros (US$3.5 billion). A group of minority shareholders contested the move, filing more than 25 lawsuits earlier this year.

If the merger is completed, T-Online will remain a separate organization responsible for developing IP services and applications. Last month, Deutsche Telekom Chief Financial Officer Karl-Gerhard Eick said he expects to complete the acquisition in early 2006.