Investors in Vodafone will receive an $84 billion cash and shares windfall after the telecoms giant last night sold its share in America’s biggest mobile phone firm for $130 billion.
The group confirmed one of the biggest corporate deals in history by agreeing to sell its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to its joint venture partner.
The deal will net investors in Vodafone $23.9bn in cash (£15.4bn) plus Verizon shares, a total $84bn (£54.3bn) payout equivalent to 112p per Vodafone share.
Vodafone announced the long-anticipated $130bn deal after the London stock market had closed.
The bulk of the proceeds from the deal 71% will go to Vodafone shareholders, who could cash in their Verizon shares to take the entire windfall as cash.
But the deal will not involve a tax payment to the UK exchequer, the company revealed, risking further controversy after intense scrutiny of its tax affairs.
Vodafone will pay tax of $5bn (£3.2bn) in the US but said the UK is not a “relevant jurisdiction” because its US arm is owned by a Dutch holding company. It said even if the stake was sold from the UK, it would not be taxable under UK law because of an exemption introduced in 2002.
Boss Vittorio Colao said the sale will mean a “very substantial return to shareholders and to the investments relied upon by savers and pensioners”.
Such is its size, the deal is being seen as a major cash injection into the UK economy, effectively another dose of quantitative easing.
Mr Colao said Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless has proved “extremely valuable” but added that the £20bn of cash it plans to retain will go to funding investment in super-fast mobile networks and broadband, as well as paying down debt.
“This transaction has the beauty that it allows both to reward shareholders for their support and strengthen the company for future long-term rewards to shareholders,” he said.
Shares in Vodafone closed up 6.95p to 213.2p, a 3.4% gain, in anticipation of the deal.