Skip to main content

Alltel to Spin Off Wireline Business

Alltel Corporation said it would spin off to shareholders its local-telephone unit and merge the business with Valor Communications Group Inc. in a deal worth $4.9 billion.

The transaction would create a local-telephone company with a rural focus and 3.4 million access lines in 16 states. The companies said the deal was attractive because of their complementary market regions, and forecast $40 million of cost savings annually.

Alltel, the nation's leading rural telephone company, said in September that it had spoken with multiple possible buyers as it began evaluating a spinoff or partial sale of its local business.

The deal with Valor, expected to close by mid-2006, requires shareholder approval, as well as approval from federal and state regulators, the companies said. Alltel, which derives most of its revenue from wireless service, said it plans a $3 billion share buyback program after it completes the spinoff in mid-2006.

In the deal, Valor will issue about 400 million shares of stock to Alltel shareholders. The stock is worth about $4.9 billion, based on Valor's closing stock price of $12.24 on Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange. Valor will also assume $4.2 billion of Alltel debt.

Popular posts from this blog

GenAI Smartphones Forecast to Drive Growth

The semiconductor and smartphone industry stands on the brink of a transformative era, driven by the rapid integration of Generative AI (GenAI) technology into mobile devices. According to the latest global market study by International Data Corporation (IDC), GenAI smartphone shipments are forecast to grow by 363.6 percent in 2024 alone, reaching 234.2 million units. This surge represents 19 percent of the overall smartphone market. As we look toward the future, the adoption of GenAI is anticipated to redefine mobile device user interaction. GenAI Smartphone Market Development GenAI smartphones are defined by their ability to run on-device generative AI models efficiently, thanks to a system-on-a-chip (SoC) featuring a neural processing unit (NPU) with a performance capability of 30 tera operations per second (TOPS) or more, using the int-8 data type. This technological advancement promises to enhance the mobile user experience by enabling more personalized and proactive GenAI tool f