Could AT&T and Verizon team up to buy Vodafone?
This latest acquisition rumor concerning the fate of Vodafone and Verizon is a doozy. While it was initially believed that Vodafone would sell back its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless to the carrier’s parent company, the deal could go the other way with the help of a surprising partner. According to a report from The Financial Times‘ Alphaville blog, Verizon could acquire Vodafone at a price of $245 billion as a joint venture with AT&T.
If it sounds unbelievable, it’s because it is. There isn’t much to back up the initial report, making most skeptical about a deal of this magnitude getting done. Not only would it be one of the largest buyouts of all time, but it would also feature two market rivals cooperating on the endeavor. Let’s not even mention the regulatory hurdles that would need to be jumped in order of the US-based carriers to purchase the multinational Vodafone. Remember when AT&T couldn’t even secure enough signatures to finalize a deal to buyout T-Mobile? Yeah, we’d say this has even less of a chance of happening.
Of course, there is a chance that it will happen, which could lead to a pretty big shakeup in the global wireless industry. How it would affect Verizon and AT&T’s current relationship remains to be seen.
[via GigaOM]