Vodafone says no to change in Verizon stake
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(InfoWorld) - Vodafone Group intends to keep its stake in Verizon Wireless, despite a proposal submitted by a large shareholder recommending a change in the holding. The issue of Vodafone's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless comes up during virtually every earnings report from Vodafone. Vodafone typically argues that while it keeps an eye on the investment and probably won't hold on to it forever, growth at Verizon continues, so the investment is sound for now. On Thursday, Vodafone said that Efficient Capital Structures, a group that controls 210,000 shares of the company, submitted several resolutions, including one suggesting that Vodafone either spin off or issue tracking shares of its Verizon Wireless interest. Vodafone is required to submit the resolutions for vote during its annual shareholders meeting July 24. Vodafone said that its share in Verizon has generated significant value and that a change in the structure of that investment would lose some of that value. A tracking share would probably trade low because of limited transparency, Vodafone said. A spinoff would also likely lead to lowered value because of difficulties in tax structures and because the board doesn't think the United Kingdom is the natural place to list such shares. Another resolution from ECS seeks to put a cap of Â£1 billion ($2 billion) on any acquisition or a maximum of Â£5 billion in aggregate acquisitions in any two-year period before 2010 unless the deal gets shareholder approval. Vodafone argues that such a rule would prevent it from competing for assets and would have precluded the company from making some historical buys, such as acquisitions in Romania, Turkey, and India. The proposals from ECS add to pressure mounting on Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin. Last year, around 10 percent of shareholders voted against his re-election to the board. The vote came a few months after Vodafone revealed a Â£14 billion loss for the year ending in March 2006, marking a record loss for a U.K. company.
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Vodafone Group Plc  has  won the battle for a controlling stake in India's No.4 mobile  operator Hutchison Essar with a bid that values it at around  $19 billion including debt, a source and India's Essar group  said on Sunday.
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Verizon Wireless said it wonât oppose the Federal Communications Commissionâs decision to grant valuable wireless spectrum to Nextel Communications Inc.
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LONDON/NEW YORK  - Wireless telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc  denied a report that it was considering a $160 billion bid for Verizon Communications Inc. , a move that would consolidate ownership of their wireless joint venture.
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Wireless telecommunications company Vodafone Group Plc  has been considering a $160 billion takeover bid of Verizon Communications , the Financial Times reported on Monday on its Alphaville site.
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Vodafone Group, the world&#39;s largest mobile-phone operator, said Tuesday it&#39;s not in talks with partner Verizon Communications to bid for Sprint Corp.
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Verizon Communications has reportedly gained the backing of its wireless partner, Vodafone Group, for a potential bid for Sprint Corp, clearing a major hurdle to such a deal.
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(InfoWorld) - Shareholders of Vodafone Group soundly rejected a proposal to spin off the company's stake in Verizon Wireless on Tuesday, signaling they want the British mobile operator's management to stay the course. Vodafone, which has cellular businesses in 23 countries around the world, owns 45 percent of Verizon Wireless. Incumbent wireline carrier Verizon Communications holds the other 55 percent. Efficient Capital Structures (ECS), an investor group, presented a resolution for Vodafone's Tuesday annual meeting that called on the carrier to either create a new holding company consisting of its stake in Verizon Wireless or create a separate tracking stock so investors could choose to buy into that part of Vodafone. ECS argued investors can't take advantage of Verizon's success today. "The investment is 'buried' within Vodafone's Emerging Markets division, preventing the market from valuing it directly," ECS Chairman Glenn Cooper said in a statement to shareholders. He also argued that because Verizon uses CDMA while the rest of Vodafone's networks are based on GSM, it should be broken out. However, less than 5 percent of Vodafone shares were voted in favor of the resolution, one of a series of proposals by the group that the company's board opposed. All of them were voted down. Verizon Wireless is one of the two dominant mobile operators in the U.S. Rival AT&T has 62 million subscribers to Verizon's 60 million, but Verizon had slightly more revenue last year at about US$38 billion. Vodafone's stake in the operator gives it a toehold in the U.S. mobile market but doesn't allow it to run its own business or build up its brand. Vodafone tried to acquire AT&T Wireless in 2004 before that company was acquired by Cingular. Joint ownership also leaves Verizon Communications without full ownership of its cellular business, which rival AT&T now has. That may make it easier for AT&T to bundle wired and wireless services for subscribers. Last week,Â Vodafone denied reports that it was considering buying all of Verizon CommunicationsÂ and then spinning off the wireless business. Vodafone had 198.6 million customers across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region at the end of last year. Â
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A small, rebel shareholder sought to  step up the pressure on Vodafone Group Plc  on Tuesday,  saying the British mobile phone company had no clear strategy  for its stake in U.S. joint venture Verizon Wireless.
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Vodafone has given Verizon Wireless the green-light to make a bid to buy Sprint. &quot;Verizon Communications Inc.
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US telecoms firm Verizon is reported to have won the backing of mobile partner Vodafone for a bid for US rival Sprint.
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Verizon Communications has gained the backing of partner Vodafone Group to bid for Sprint Corp in a move that could thwart Sprint&#39;s potential $35 billion bid for Nextel Communications, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.
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Vodafone Group Plc plans to hand 6.0 billion pounds (&#36;11.12 billion) back to shareholders this year after doubling half-year and full-year dividends and boosting a multi-billion pound share buy-back program.
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VODAFONE has revealed it will hike its dividend payment when it reports half-year results in November, while chief executive Arun Sarin insisted he was keen to make further global acquisitions.
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British-based mobile phone giant Vodafone Group said Tuesday that it was not in talks with US partner Verizon Communications about a possible bid for US rival Sprint.
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The misinformation and confusion over whether or not the US mobile phone company Verizon Wireless, part owned by Vodafone, is going to muscle in on the $35bn (Â£18bn) merger of rivals Sprint and Nextel continued yesterday with hedge funds playing both
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Vodafone Group PLC on Monday denied a newspaper report it is considering making a $160 billion bid for its U.S. partner in the wireless phone business, Verizon Communications Inc.