Vodafone Says Verizon Bid Total Pants
by John Paczkowski
Posted on July 16, 2007 at 12:01 AM PT
Given the criticism leveled at Vodafone following its failed 2004 bid for AT&T Wireless, it’s of little surpise that the company is vehemently denying reports that have it mulling a $160 billion offer for Verizon Communications.
Vodafone claims it has “no plans” to make such an offer. But as Sony president Ryoji Chubachi can attest, “no plans” can mean any number of things–perhaps even “carefully scripted leveraged buyout.” Certainly, Vodafone has to have kicked the idea around in the past. Acquiring Verizon Communications would give it full control of the telecom companies’ jointly held Verizon Wireless venture. And at the near-bargain basement price of $160 billion–after all, the American dollar has fallen to a 26-year low against the British pound. “Sure, $160 billion is a huge amount, but it’s not nearly as big as it used to be–if you’re paying in British pounds,” ZDnet’s Larry Dignan writes. “The dollar is a downtrodden currency these days. And Vodafone reports its financials in the pound. A Vodafone acquisition of Verizon is the equivalent of a Londoner taking a vacation in the U.S.–it’s a bargain.”
