AT&T Near a Deal to Buy Most of Verizon’s Alltel Divestitures

Breaking News: AT&T Near $2.5 Billion Deal to Buy most of Verizon’s Alltel Divestitures (story developing)

Update: From Reuters: AT&T is expected to buy 18 of 24 assets being divested, the sources familiar with the situation said Friday. The remaining six assets remain up for bid, with interested parties including some private equity firms and other wireless carriers, one source said.

Verizon closed its acquisition of rural wireless provider Alltel Corp in early January. The merger created the biggest U.S. wireless provider, surpassing AT&T in terms of subscribers.

As part of gaining approval for the Alltel acquisition, Verizon was required to divest airwaves in 105 markets.

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