Verizon Says No Deal for Vodafone

Vodafone’s CEO has said that he wants the company to exit joint ventures where Vodafone does not own a controlling interest. The company owns 45% of Verizon Wireless, while Verizon owns the majority stake.

Verizon probably cannot afford to merge with Vodafone by itself. Such a deal would be valued at around $245 billion and would ladle on the debt. Instead, Verizon appears to want only Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless, which carries an estimated value of $115 billion.

Under European rules, Verizon’s statement that it is not considering a merger with Vodafone bars the U.S. company from making an offer for six months, with a few exceptions.