Verizon could soon announce the sale of $10 billion in wireline assets to Frontier Communications, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
The sale is in addition to Verizon’s ongoing efforts to offload $5 billion worth of cellphone towers.
Verizon declined to comment.
The Wall Street Journal had previously reported both sales without the names of intended buyers. The strategic move by Verizon came shortly after the FCC announced winning bidders in its AWS-3 spectrum auction. Verizon spent $10.4 billion for 181 licenses covering 61 percent of the U.S. population.
AT&T was by far the largest bidder in the auction, spending $18.2 billion for AWS-3 spectrum covering 97 percent of the U.S. population. AT&T has reportedly been working to sell assets as well. The Wall Street Journal reported that the carrier is looking to sell data centers for $2 billion.
AT&T recently closed a deal to sell its Connecticut wireline operations to Frontier. Frontier could see have some available funds following that closure which it could put toward the Verizon deal.
Gabelli and Co. wrote that it expects Frontier to see improved free cash flow and earnings per share following the finalization of its deal with AT&T.
Verizon, in addition to its large spectrum auction bill, is carrying a lot of debt associated with its buyout of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless.
Filed Under: Carriers
