Verizon Wireless is asking the Federal Communications Commission for more time to close the sale of mobile phone operations in 105 markets. The joint venture of Verizon Communications Inc. and Vodafone Group plc has been shopping the wireless assets to win regulatory approval for its $28.1 billion purchase of Alltel Corp., which closed in January.
The assets are being managed by a trustee until May 9. If Verizon Wireless can't close the sale by then, a "divestiture trustee" will replace the "management trustee," potentially complicating matters. The company wants another 60 days to finalize a sale.
In an April letter to the FCC, Verizon Wireless notes the complexity of the sale: More than 70 prospective buyers signed nondisclosure agreements. The document detailing the assets was 200 pages long.
Moreover, the divestiture of 105 of the assets is "by far the largest" that the government has required since the 2000 merger creating Verizon Wireless. Some other large divestitures include:
- SBC Communications Inc. and BellSouth Corp. divested 16 markets when they formed Cingular Wireless LLC in 2000
- Cingular's $47 billion purchase of AT&T Wireless Services Inc. in 2005 required sales of assets in all or part of 30 markets
- Alltel's $6 billion purchase of Western Wireless Corp. in 2005 involved divestitures in 16 markets
- When it acquired Midwest Wireless Holdings LLC for $1.1 billion in 2006, Alltel divested four markets after
- AT&T had to excise four markets to win clearance for its $2.8 billion purchase of Dobson Communications Corp. in 2007
- Verizon Wireless had to divest six markets when it spent $2.67 billion to buy Rural Cellular Corp. in 2008
- Chris NolterSee The Deal's coverage of the auctionSee Verizon FCC Extension request
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