Report: Vodafone Seeks to Buy Verizon

Telecom jostling might entail Vodafone keeping Verizon Wireless and spinning off the rest.
By TSC Staff ,

There's long-shot speculation that

Vodafone

(VOD) - Get Report

could seek to acquire

Verizon Communications

(VZ) - Get Report

.

The latest loose chatter in the telecom sector comes out of

The Wall Street Journal's

"Heard on the Street" column. Discussing the prospect that Vodafone might seek to acquire

AT&T Wireless

(AWE)

, which has been on the auction block for the better part of a month now, the

Journal

discusses the hurdles in Vodafone's path. The article then speculates that Vodafone could get around those potholes by buying all of the leading U.S. phone service.

If completed, Vodafone, the world's largest wireless carrier, might keep Verizon's wireless unit but spin off the rest of the company's businesses, the

Journal

reported Tuesday. Vodafone has a 45% stake in

Verizon Wireless

, while Verizon Communications owns the other 55%.

The news comes in the midst of AT&T Wireless putting itself up for auction in January.

Cingular Wireless

has reportedly bid to buy the company for $30 billion.

Complicating matters, Vodafone announced on Monday that it is considering buying AT&T Wireless. But in order to do so, Vodafone would have to get out of its partnership with Verizon Wireless.

The

Journal

said the two companies are negotiating a deal that would have Verizon pay Vodafone about $20 billion for its stake in Verizon Wireless. It is assumed that Vodafone would use that money to buy AT&T Wireless.

Shares of AT&T Wireless were moving up 5 cents, or 0.4%, at $11.35 in premarket trading, while shares of Verizon were up 40 cents, or 1.1%, at $37.35.

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