Verizon and Vodafone plan to announce a $130 billion deal today that will give the Gotham-based telecom giant complete control of Verizon Wireless, subject to final board approval, people familiar with the matter said.
Vodafone said late yesterday it was in advanced talks with Verizon to sell its 45 percent stake in the joint venture for $130 billion, comprising cash and common shares, but that there was no certainty an agreement would be reached.
“A further announcement will be made as soon as practicable,” it said of the deal to exit the largest mobile operator in the US.
The UK-based telecom would get $60 billion in cash, $60 billion in Verizon stock, and an additional $10 billion from smaller transactions that will take the total deal value to $130 billion, according to two sources.
To fund the cash portion of the deal, Verizon has lined up as much as $65 billion in financing from four banks: JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Barclays, they said. The financing is expected to be split evenly among the four, two people said.
A full announcement of the terms is expected to come after the market closes in London today. Earlier in the day the Verizon board plans to vote on it, sources said. Vodafone’s board was scheduled to approve the deal yesterday, the people said.
All the people asked not to be identified because the matter is not public.
If the deal is concluded, it will end one of the longest-running corporate standoffs, which has at times seen both partners seek to buy out the other in times of weakness.
For Verizon, it means it would no longer have to share the billions in cash generated by Verizon Wireless. On the Vodafone side, the company will get a war chest of cash to reward shareholders and potentially carry out acquisitions to strengthen the group’s European and emerging-market operations.