Verizon shows interest in acquiring complete stake in Verizon Wireless

U.S. telecom major Verizon Communications has reportedly shown interest in acquiring the 45 percent stake owned by Vodafone Group Plc in the mobile service provider Verizon Wireless. They have made a formal proposal to the Vodafone group and if it indeed takes place, it could be worth more than $40 billion.

An inside source was quoted by the British newspaper the Business. The news article cited an insider saying: “We have made our interest in acquiring Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless clear. The ball is now in Vodafone’s court.”

The deal becomes more important after the company sees increasing competition from AT&T who has just started the process of acquiring BellSouth in the United States. This would give AT&T complete control over the wireless division of the Verizon.

Vodafone might agree to this deal considering they are also considering moving out of the Japanese market by selling off their stake in its struggling Japanese unit to Softbank Corp.

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