Verizon Vodafone Merger 2013: Vodafone Plans to Sell Back Stake in Verizon, Stocks Rise
According to the New York Times, British telecommunications company Vodafone has confirmed that it may be close to selling Verizon its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless for around $115 billion.
The deal would finally allow Verizon Wireless to take control of the company's future. The NY Times says that analysts expect Verizon to take advantage of this opportunity by pouring billions of dollars into boosting high-speed infrastructure. Verizon has faced increasing pressure in recent years to take full control of the company in order to keep up with the fast-paced changes in the tech and mobile industries.
If the deal goes through, it would be one of the biggest deals in the industry's history. Vodafone took over German cellphone company Mannesmann in 2000 for a hefty $181 billion.
Vodafone's potential payout would allow the company to focus on its efforts in Europe; the company remains not only the dominant cell phone operator in Europe but stands as the second largest in the world. Vodafone has seen its stock slowly go down since teaming up with Verizon over a decade ago.
"Such moves provide the capacity and level of integration necessary for competing effectively in a future pan-European market," said Ronald Klingebiel of the Warwick Business School.
Although the talks between Vodafone and Verizon have been confirmed, there are no guarantees. Vodafone warned the general public against jumping to conclusions too soon.
"There is no certainty that an agreement will be reached," Vodafone said.
According to the BBC, Verizon services are used in at least 150 countries across the globe. Vodafone, on the other hand, operates in 30 countries and has partnerships in 50 more. The company serves 403 million people.
Earlier this summer Vodafone agreed to buy German cable operator Kabel Deutschland for about $10 billion.