Strange bedfellows or not, it looks like Verizon and AT&T might be jumping into the sack together in order to make a collective bid for Vodafone, the world's second-largest mobile carrier.
For Verizon, this would mean that it would be reacquiring the value Vodafone has in the company. By taking part in the transaction, AT&T would be acquiring all non-U.S. assets.
If signed, the deal would have Verizon and AT&T together offering $3.93 per share, according to a report by CNET.
Financial Times suggests that "usually reliable people" as a source have said the deal is bonafide and that Vodafone is valued at $245 billion.
The Verizon/AT&T deal for Vodafone would be "quite complex," too, says the Financial Times. The 45-percent stake in Verizon Vodafone currently owns would be purchased back, which is what leaves AT&T everything in the non-U.S. assets previously mentioned.
Why would two massive carriers like Verizon and AT&T need to team up to buy out Vodafone? They feel that such a deal will make regulatory hurdles easier to overcome. By going in to acquire Vodafone together, both Verizon and AT&T also share the equally massive risk, according to the Financial Times.
With 403 million customers, Vodafone falls behind only China Mobile in world carriers. The company has a stronghold in Europe and is represented elsewhere all over the world. This new possible deal would therefore give AT&T a foothold at last in the European market.
Verizon would meanwhile have full control over its operation without Vodafone's presence in its business affairs.
In early March, CNET reported that Verizon and Vodafone were already considering either merging or going their separate ways. As that doesn't seem to be happening, the possibility of Verizon going in with AT&T to take over Vodafone doesn't seem to be too far-fetched.
Stranger things have happened.
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