For a while now, Verizon has been in talks with Vodafone to buyback the 45 percent share that it owns in Verizon Wireless. Ever since Vodafone purchased their stake in Verizon, both companies have been constant clash, but now Verizon is looking to buyout the stake from Vodafone to regain 100 percent control Verizon Wireless.
According to a new report from PR Newswire, Verizon and Vodafone have come to an agreement. Verizon will pay Vodafone a whopping $130 billion to buyback the 45 percent stake Vodafone owns in Verizon Wireless. The British multinational telecommunications company had presence in the United States market through Verizon, but now the company has no appearance in the US market.
The $130 billion deal was approved from board of directors and has gone into effect right away. Verizon will be exchanging $60 billion in cash, $60 billion in stock and $10 billion in smaller transactions for Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. Big Red will have 100% control over Verizon Wireless, and this can be a good or a bad thing for customers.
For starters, $130 billion deal isn’t a small amount, so one thing that does concern a lot of people is price hikes for Verizon customers. The good thing is that due to this transaction, Verizon will be allowed to operate the network more smoothly without having to worry about a third party.
Here is what Lowell McAdam, Chairman and CEO of Verizon said:
“Over the past 13 years, Verizon Wireless has been a key driver of our business strategy, and through our partnership with Vodafone, we have made Verizon Wireless into the premier wireless provider in the U.S. The capabilities to wirelessly stream video and broadband in 4G LTE complement our other assets in fiber, global IP and cloud. These assets position us for the rapidly increasing customer demand for video, machine to machine and big data. We are confident of further growth in wireless, and our business in its entirety.”
The original joint venture since 2000 has brought Verizon with many great opportunities. Verizon now has the largest 4G LTE network in US, with AT&T trailing behind it. Being the #1 carrier in the US market and offering 4G LTE in the most market, you certainly can’t go wrong with that. Verizon may have the largest 4G LTE network, but AT&T is right behind it catching up slowly. In a recent report, AT&T has the fastest and most reliable 4G LTE network in the market right now.
Where do you think Verizon is headed from here?
