Source: Verizon Seeking Alltel Acquisition

[RobRich]

Word on the street is Verizon could be poised to acquire Alltel in a deal valued at approximately $27 billion. If transacted, the resulting company would surpass AT&T as the largest wireless telecom provider in the United States.

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Verizon's move, in which it would take on about $23 billion of Alltel debt, was a surprise to many analysts as it came only seven months after Alltel was taken private by TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs' GS Capital Partners. The leveraged buyout saddled Alltel with the debt.

That $27.5 billion deal in November 2007 was the largest ever private equity investment in the U.S. wireless industry, but it closed amid a mounting credit crisis that has curtailed the leveraged buyout boom.

Source: Forbes (Reuters)