Vodafone Group Board Expected To Vote On Verizon Deal : WSJ

(RTTNews) - British telecom giant Vodafone Group Plc.'s (VOD, VOD.L) board of directors is expected to vote on a proposed sale of its 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless by Sunday, the Wall Street Journal reported citing a person familiar with the matter.

Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. cellphone carrier, is the US wireless joint venture between US Telecommunications giant Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and Vodafone, with Verizon owning a 55 percent stake and Vodafone owning a 45 percent interest. The joint venture began operations as Verizon Wireless on April 4, 2000.

Last week, Vodafone confirmed that it was in talks with Verizon Communications regarding a possible disposal of Vodafone's 45 percent stake in their joint venture Verizon Wireless. The Journal reported that the purchase price could be as much as $130 billion, and a deal could be wrapped up this week.

It is unclear if the board has already met to discuss the deal, and a vote could still be delayed. It is also unclear when Verizon's board planned to meet, amid the long Labor Day weekend in the U.S, the paper said.

An announcement over the deal—if it is approved by both companies—could come as early as Monday, the Journal said citing the person.