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Verizon Shows Interest in Buying Out Vodafone

6:05 am on March 7, 2006 | Category: Business, Corporate, Telecom Services, Wireless

US telecom giant, Verizon Communications, reiterated yesterday that it is interested in buying out partner, Vodafone Group, which owns a 45% share in Verizon.

“We are focused onâ€¦ working to acquire from Vodafone the remaining 45 percent of Verizon Wireless,” Verizon said in a statement Monday.

This follows Vodafoneâ€™s recent exit from the Japanese market, and analystâ€™s predictions that the company could follow a strategy of withdrawing from already developed markets outside of Europe, in favor of emerging markets like India and China.

Verizon also now has added motivation to gain complete ownership of its own operations, as rival AT&T plans to cement its dominance of the US telecom market through a merger with BellSouth.

Although Vodafone still claims that it has no intention of selling its share in the US phone giant, many shareholders seem to think that the sale of Verizon would be a positive move for the company. In the end, Vodafoneâ€™s decision to sell out of the US market or not could depend on the level of pressure from shareholders.

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