Verizon Buoys Guggenheim With Taubman on Awarding M&A Roles

Verizon Communications Inc., undertaking the biggest acquisition in more than a decade, picked some of the smallest firms for financial advice.

Paul Taubman, a Morgan Stanley veteran who left the bank this year and is now working independently, and New York-based Guggenheim Partners LLC landed key roles advising Verizon on its $130 billion purchase of Vodafone Group Plc’s 45 percent stake in their wireless joint venture, according to statements from the companies today. Andrew Decker, Alan Schwartz and Jim Ferency led the advisory team at Guggenheim, said a person with knowledge of the negotiations.