Vodafone may be considering purchasing Liberty Global (Nasdaq: LBTYA) once it exits its 45 percent ownership of Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ), according to Macquarie Equities analyst Amy Yong. Yong's speculation caused Liberty Global's stock price to close at $78.59, up 3.2 percent from the previous day.
Yong's analysis is based upon reports that Vodafone is talking to Verizon about selling its 45 percent stake in the company for as much as $130 billion. The analyst believes the company may then use that cash in a deal with Liberty, which has a market cap of $29.8 million.
Yong noted that Vodafone is interested in cable assets because of its recent $10.1 billion bid for German operator Kabel Deutschland and its 2012 purchase of Cable & Wireless Worldwide for $1.8 billion. She also said Vodafone and Liberty could launch an MVNO that would offer convergent services in certain markets including the U.K., Netherlands and Germany.
Yong isn't the only one speculating on Vodafone's next move. According to Bloomberg, which is citing unnamed sources, AT&T (NYSE:T) may also be interested in exploring options for Vodafone's assets following a potential deal between Vodafone and Verizon.
However, the report said AT&T is only interested in Vodafone's wireless holdings and would be hesitant to proceed if Vodafone expands in cable and fixed-line businesses.
For more:
- see this Broadband TV News article
- see this FierceWireless report
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