Alltel being pursued by private equity firms

Wall Street Journal has reported in a news item that private equity firms Providence Equity Partners and The Blackstone Group are teaming up to bid for the U.S. rural wireless telecoms service provider Alltel Corp.

The news report quoted a source familiar with the matter. WSJ claims that a possible bid could be worth around USD 30 billion.

Some other parties which could be in the hunt include TPG Capital, the private-equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and The Carlyle Group and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.

The report further said that the interested parties have already started their talks with the management at Alltel.

None of the rumored parties have yet to comment on this latest report in the market connected to a possible acquisition to Alltel.

Market analysts too have said that the company could be for $25 billion to $30 billion. Even rival telecom companies in the region including Verizon, AT&T, Vodafone and Sprint Nextel could put in their offers.

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