Verizon Communications Inc. agreed to pay Vodafone Group plc $130 billion on September 2 to take full control of Verizon Wireless, the wireless joint venture the two phone companies formed in 1999. The deal would be the world’s largest M&A transaction since Vodafone paid €180 billion for Mannesmann AG in 2000.
For its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless, Vodafone will get $59 billion in cash, $60 billion in common stock, $5 billion in loan notes, and $3.5 billion in the form of Verizon’s 23 percent stake in Italian wireless service provider Vodafone Omnitel N.V. Verizon will also assume $2.5 billion in Vodafone liabilities relating to Verizon Wireless. The parties hope to close the deal in the first quarter pending approvals from regulators and both sets of shareholders.
