Verizon does not feel pressure to do a big, strategic deal, despite industry speculation and expectation from analysts, CEO Lowell McAdam said.

Reuters reported comments from the executive at the company’s latest meeting with financial analysts, where McAdam fielded questions on the company’s strategy in the face of the pending big-money acquisition of Time Warner by rival AT&T.

The $85.4 billion AT&T Time Warner acquisition is currently going through the regulatory process and, if cleared, will see the company expand its interests further into the content sector.

Verizon could hardly be regarded as having been quiet on the acquisition front in recent years, boosting its content and advertising play with a $4.5 billion bid for Yahoo’s core businesses, which is expected to complete in June, and a $4.4 billion AOL buy during 2015.

M&A activity from AT&T and Verizon in sectors outside wireless telecoms comes while the pair also look to develop and launch next generation technologies.

In an apparent bid to step-up this drive, Verizon is rumoured to have gone head to head with AT&T in an attempt to acquire 5G-ready spectrum licence holder Straight Path Communications.

AT&T agreed a $1.6 billion fee for Straight Path in early April, though a mystery rival since made three attempts to usurp the offer – its current offer stands at $3.1 billion – and take the deal for itself.

While Straight Path Communications only revealed the rival bids came from a “multinational telecommunications company”, CNBC claimed the offers came from Verizon.

M&A talk
Discussion of M&A in the US media and wireless sector intensified in recent weeks following the expiry of an FCC ban on acquisition talks between providers in late April.

Communications providers had previously been prevented from entering formal talks during a lengthy spectrum auction of former broadcast airwaves for wireless use. Now the process is complete, companies involved are free to discuss potential deals.