Deutsche Telekom chief executive Mr Ron Sommer placed full page advertisements in German newspapers today, defending the group's performance and urging shareholders not to abandon the stock.
The telecoms group lost a fifth of its market value - or euro 20 billion - in under a week after a placement by Deutsche Bank of 44 million shares on August 7th sparked a broad flight from the stock.
The shares steadied to close at euro 19.90 yesterday, after an upgrade from Goldman Sachs, but are still little more than a euro above a 41-month low posted on Monday. It firmed slightly to euro 19.97 in early trading today.
Mr Sommer, writing in an open letter to shareholders, said he deeply regretted the fall but said it had nothing to do with the underlying health of the company.
"We view the current share price move as a crass contradiction to the operating performance and strategic position of the company," he said. "And that means that the stock may have fallen in value but not in substance."
The letter was carried in business newspaper Handelsblattand the respected daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
Mr Sommer also said the slump would not affect Telekom's operations, partly because the company had among the most stable financing of the sector.
Management board members from the telecoms giant and Deutsche Bank are expected to meet this week to discuss their relationship following the placement, which came a day after Germany's biggest bank reiterated a buy rating on the stock.
Deutsche Telekom has accused Deutsche Bank of making a grave error and said it would consider legal action. Deutsche Telekom has long been a client of Deutsche Bank.
The fall in Telekom shares has taken the stock towards its issue price and politicians have grown uneasy about the fall in the "people's share".
It was first issued at euro 14.3 euros in November 1996 in a flotation heralded as the birth of a popular share ownership in Germany.