Vodafone Shares Soar on Verizon Completing 45% Stake in Verizon Wireless Acquisition

Vodafone shares are leading the FTSE100 in the afternoon trading session after Verizon Communications revealed that it has completed the acquisition of Vodafone's 45% indirect interest in Verizon wireless.

The Vodafone stock price rose by nearly 3% to 236.15p after Verizon Communications announced the highly anticipated deal.

The deal was originally tipped to be worth $130bn (£78bn, €95bn) however Vodafone will now only pay $82.5bn to shareholders and consolidate its shares.This cuts its market value to about $100bn.

Vodafone originally only received a special dividend from Verizon for its stake in Verizon Wireless.

The British telecom firm does not have control over the US joint venture, so unlocking the 45% stake could mean a major cash injection for the group.

Verizon is eager to acquire full control over the joint venture as Verizon Wireless's subscriber-base has been growing for the last year.

For example, the firm added 941,000 new customers at the end of the second quarter of 2013, improving on the 720,000 additions it announced for the first three months of last year.

It garnered a record 2.1 million subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2012 and generates a significant earnings margin of more than 41%.