Vodafone shareholders OK deal to sell Verizon Wireless
The approval paves the way for Vodafone to sell its stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon Communications.
Vodafone now has investor approval to sell off its 45 percent slice of Verizon Wireless.
At the annual meeting on Tuesday, an overwhelming 99.8 percent of all Vodafone shareholders approved the proposal. The deal means that Verizon Communications will own all of Verizon Wireless and that Vodafone investors will reap the financial rewards.
The transaction will reward Vodafone with $58.9 billion in cash and $60.2 billion in Verizon shares with $84 billion of the total going to Vodafone investors. That will mark the largest single return in corporate history, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The sale is expected to be completed February 21. Vodafone investors will receive their shares on February 24 and cash on March 4.
Speculation arose that AT&T might be interested in acquiring Vodafone. But on Monday AT&T nixed that idea, at least for now, stating that it "does not intend to make an offer for Vodafone" but that it "reserves the right to announce or participate in an offer or possible offer for Vodafone."