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Verizon must sell assets in 22 states for approval of $28B Alltel merger

Business Materials 31 October 2008 05:25 (UTC +04:00)

The U.S. Justice Department has effectively given Verizon Wireless the go-ahead to buy Alltel Corp. in a $28 billion deal that would create the nation's largest wireless carrier, the Associated Press reported.

Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications Inc. and Britain's Vodafone Group PLC, already has agreed to the government's condition that it sell assets in 22 states.

The Federal Communications Commission is slated to vote on the merger on Tuesday.

Justice Department lawyers joined seven states in a lawsuit filed Thursday to block the merger, but also filed a proposed settlement that would require Verizon Wireless to divest assets in 100 markets. Without that action, the Justice Department said, the deal would drive up consumer prices and likely produce a lower-quality network.

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