Verizon gets Vodafone OK for Sprint bid

Verizon Communications has gained the backing of partner Vodafone Group to bid for Sprint Corp. in a move that could thwart Sprint's potential $35 billion bid for Nextel Communications, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

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Officials at Verizon, which jointly owns Verizon Wireless with Britain's Vodafone, has been talking about a possible takeover in the past few days after studying a potential deal for 18 months, people familiar with the situation told the newspaper, adding it is unclear if Verizon will indeed make a bid.

A Verizon bid for Sprint could still be days or weeks away, the Journal said, because Verizon and Vodafone need to agree on issues such as how much to bid and how to deal with Sprint's land-line and long-distance phone operations.

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Sprint and Nextel have held talks over the past year about merging, renewing negotiations in recent days to create a wireless giant with about 39 million customers to rival industry leaders Cingular Wireless and Verizon Wireless.

The Journal reported that Sprint's board met on Monday afternoon to discuss the proposed deal with Nextel, while Nextel's board is also considering the prospective deal, noting that the merger is scheduled to be announced later on Tuesday in New York.