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As expected, Verizon Communications completed its buyout of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless Friday.
The company paid $130 billion to buy Vodafone’s 45 percent holdings in the company.
In an internal memo sent to Verizon employees, CEO Lowell McAdam tried to inspire his troops as the competition in the wireless market heats up. He said that some changes will be coming to the company as a result of the buyout. These change will “better position us to take advantage of all our capabilities to serve the customer better and create the enduring growth company that can lead the market in the years to come,” he said.
He said that Verizon needs to respond to changing market dynamics just as smaller regional players had to do when the wireless industry was just getting off the ground.
“Just as separate regional companies couldn’t meet customers’ emerging need for nationwide service in 2000, neither can we provide the integrated services customers will be seeking in the next few years by staying in our separate business units and stovepipes,” he added.
The deal is the third largest corporate acquisition ever, behind Vodafone’s $183 billion deal for Mannesmann AG in 1999 and AOL’s $164 billion deal for Time Warner the next year. Under the terms of the deal, Verizon paid $60.2 billion in stock and $58.9 billion in cash for Vodafone’s 45 percent share.
