We know that Verizon Wireless is the largest mobile network operator in the U.S. Did you know that on the books it is listed as Cellco Partnership, doing business as Verizon Wireless? The company was formed as a joint venture between the then American telecommunications firm Bell Atlantic which was later renamed Verizon Communications and global British telecommunications company Vodafone.
On Sept. 2, 2013, Verizon Communications announced that it had agreed to buy Vodafone's stake for $130 billion. If this were to happen, the deal would be expected to close by the first quarter of 2014. This deal would make Verizon Wireless a division of Verizon Communications.
On Dec. 4, word came from the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) that it has approved Verizon’s petition to acquire Vodafone’s U.S. group with the principal asset of 45 percent of Verizon Wireless.
What the FCC actually did was to allow Verizon Wireless to own more than 25 percent of a company owned by foreign investors. The Vodafone deal would distribute Verizon shares to stockholders in the U.K. company. The FCC also approved the transfer of control of Vodafone’s share to Verizon.
Although approval has been given by the FCC, the transaction will still take some time to complete. This is due to the fact that certain customary closing conditions need to be met. The approval of both companies’ shareholders is needed and that is expected to happen sometime during the first quarter of 2014.
“We thank the FCC for its quick action in approving our transaction with Vodafone, which will provide Verizon with 100 percent ownership of Verizon Wireless and a boost to one of the most important sectors of the U.S. economy. This application approval also marks the first use of the streamlined foreign-ownership review procedures that the FCC adopted earlier this year, and we are grateful to the commission for its commitment to process reforms that benefit wireless carriers and the customers we serve,” were the comments made by Randal Milch.
Randal Milch is the executive vice president of public policy and general counsel for Verizon. He went on to say, “Over the past 13 years Verizon Wireless has focused on meeting consumer needs through innovation and network reliability to become the premier mobile provider in the U.S. Full ownership of Verizon Wireless strengthens our ability to provide an outstanding consumer experience with advanced mobile devices, first-in-our-class network quality and reliability and new products and services that leverage and integrate our global communications technologies.”
There should be no problem with this acquisition going through as planned. However, since this still have to go through the process of a shareholders vote, there is always the possibility that something may come up, as they say to gum up the works. It does look very likely though that Verizon Wireless will become a completely U.S. owned company by early next year.
Edited by
Alisen Downey 
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