Verizon Communications has talked-up its relationship with Vodafone Group, stating that the partnership stands to benefit from “competitive advantage,” and “scale advantage,” the Financial Times reports. However, Lowell McAdam, president and CEO of the US group, tempered this by ruling out the permanent reinstatement of dividends from the Verizon Wireless joint venture to its parents.

The paper said that McAdam was “almost coquettish” about the companies’ long-standing relationship, with particular enthusiasm about how the two are collaborating to serve the needs of multinational corporate clients. The companies are also looking to jointly purchase equipment, to benefit from economies of scale in procurement.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Verizon Wireless will make a US$10 billion dividend payment to Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, after having not paid its parents since 2005. McAdam has now said that this may not become a regular event, as the Wireless business may need the cash to make acquisitions or pay for spectrum.

The FT said that the Verizon head also declined to rule-out a fully-fledged merger between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, but highlighted that “I also wouldn’t tell you it’s something that’s on our immediate horizon either.”

It was also noted that the recent appointment of former Verizon Wireless head McAdam to head Verizon Communications has changed the dynamics between the senior management of Verizon and Vodafone. The paper said that McAdam’s tone was a “stark contrast” to that of his predecessor, Ivan Seidenberg, who “banged the table in the FT’s London office and insisted the US group would be ‘the hunter’ and was ‘not for sale’.”