US BWCS : US telecoms giant Verizon Communications is said to have offered to buy out Vodafone’s 45% stake in its mobile unit, Verizon Wireless, for US$38 billion. However, according to press reports this morning, the UK-based operator has rejected the valuation as US$12 billion below par.

The London-based Daily Telegraph claims that the two companies have been in initial discussions regarding the sale and that Vodafone head, Arun Sarin, rejected the alleged offer as too low. Sarin believes that the 45% stake in the second largest mobile company in the US is worth at least US$50 billion.

A sale has been on the cards for some time and recently Sarin oversaw the offloading of Vodafone’s Japanese wing, Vodafone KK, to local ISP, Softbank. A sale of the company’s stake in Verizon Wireless would finally mark the end of Vodafone’s global ambitions. Such a move would certainly please many shareholders, who would be delighted at the prospect of a lump sum being returned to them.

There have been many “issues” between the two partners in Verizon Wireless and Vodafone has frequently been frustrated at its inability to impose its will on the US company. Lack of management control and no brand presence in the US have been the main sore points for Vodafone, plus the fact that its US venture does not even deploy the GSM standard.

For its part, Verizon Communications has made little secret of the fact that buying out Vodafone is the company’s top priority and the pressure to do something about it has intensified since AT&T had its US$67 billion offer for BellSouth accepted.

Read more from BWCS

This Weeks 3G News By Photos
This Weeks 3G News