Verizon purchases Alltel
June 5, 2008 - Verizon Wireless (
reviews) today announced that they will be buying Alltel for $5.9 billion. The deal includes Verizon picking up $22.2 billion of Alltel's debt, for a total cost of $28.1 billion. Alltel currently serves 13 million customers. Combined with Verizon's customer base the transaction will create the largest carrier the United States, moving Verizon past the current leader AT&T.
Analysts expect to see significant consolidation in the wireless industry as adoption nears 100% and other opportunities to grow a subscriber base deteriorate. Other recent rumors of mergers in the wireless industry include T-Mobile purchasing Sprint. Both Alltel and Verizon use CDMA technology, which Verizon believes will help ease the integration of the two networks.
