Talks for Verizon Wireless Could Give Vodafone Cash to Spend in Europe, Create Openings for AT&T.
By RYAN KNUTSON, THOMAS GRYTA and SAM SCHECHNER
Verizon Communications Inc.'s push to take full control of its U.S. wireless business could spark a new round of mergers across the telecom industry.
Verizon's talks with Vodafone Group PLC, which owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, could soon result in a deal worth as much as $130 billion, said people familiar with the matter. That would be the second-largest acquisition on record, bigger than Exxon's purchase of Mobil or the ill-fated merger of America Online and Time Warner Inc. in 2000.
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