Verizon agrees to buy Alltel for $28.1 billion in cash
Posted: Jun 5th 2008 10:50AM by Chase Higgins In a extremely surprising move, Verizon and Alltel have just agreed to enter a cash merger, which will be worth more than $28 billion. This is not a rumor anymore like it was yesterday, as the word comes from Verizon themselves. The deal rockets them past AT&T for the crown of largest carrier in the nation based on subscriber count. This is thanks to the 13 million subscribers Verizon will gain from Alltel, which brings their total to more than 80 million. The deal will also give Verizon coverage in 57 rural markets that they had previously not covered. They will also gain all of Alltel's spectrum, with a good chunk of it overlapping and being sold off. This will help cover the cost of the merger. It will also establish synergy sites, meaning Verizon gets to put their equipment on Alltel owned cell sites, thus saving them money over having to build their own. The deal will be subject to anti trust approval still, but it is expected to go through without a hitch.