Dec 22, 2024 | Updated: 11:35 AM EDT
Sep 02, 2013 12:58 PM EDT
(Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc said on Monday it has agreed to buy out Vodafone Group Plc's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, capping its decade-long effort to win full control of the most profitable mobile service provider in the United States.
Under the terms of the deal, Vodafone would get $58.9 billion in cash, $60.2 billion in Verizon stock, and an additional $11 billion from smaller transactions that would take the total deal value to $130 billion, Verizon said in a statement.
The boards of Verizon and Vodafone have unanimously approved the sale, which is subject to customary closing conditions, and was expected to close in the first quarter of 2014.
Verizon said it expects the transaction to be immediately accretive to earnings per share by about 10 percent, without any one-time adjustments.
The deal marks the third-largest announced acquisition in corporate history and British telecom giant Vodafone's exit from the large but mature U.S. mobile market.
Verizon also said its board declared a quarterly dividend of 53 cents per share, an increase of 1.5 cents, or 2.9 percent, from the previous quarter. On an annual basis, the hike raises Verizon's dividend 6 cents, from $2.06 to $2.12 per share.
