Vodafone is to consult its largest shareholders over plans to end its stand-off with Verizon Communications over their ownership of US mobile market-leader Verizon Wireless. According to a report in the Sunday Telegraph yesterday, Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao is to talk with large institutional shareholders such as BlackRock, Axa and Legal & General after delivering the UK group’s fiscal full-year results on 18 May. Such a move reflects the increasing urgency by Colao to bring an end to Vodafone’s frustrations at being unable to extract value from its 45 percent stake in the US operator. Vodafone has not received a shareholder dividend from the joint-venture since 2005, though the recent strong performance of Verizion Wireless in the US market is deemed to have strengthened Vodafone’s hand in negotiations. 

Vodafone has reportedly been mulling three options on Verizon Wireless: securing a resumption of dividend payments, selling its stake in the business, or merging with Verizon Communications. According to the report, Vodafone would be willing to accept the merger option, though Verizon is understood to prefer the option of buying Vodafone’s stake, despite the high price and large tax bill that would result from such a transaction. Directors of rival international mobile phone companies told the newspaper they thought a Vodafone-Verizon merger was the most likely outcome. However, Verizon Communications CEO Ivan Seidenberg said recently that a merger “doesn’t seem to have a lot of appeal.”