Will AT&T Try to Buy Vodafone?

In the wake of Verizon’s agreement to buy Vodafone’s 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless for $130 billion, Europe’s biggest mobile phone company could draw attention from suitors such as AT&T, SoftBank, or another company looking to expand in Europe. “They leave themselves small enough to be a very attractive target,” says Robin Bienenstock, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “AT&T has made it clear that they’re interested in European wireless assets, and SoftBank has made it clear that it wants to be big.”

AT&T, which has scoured Europe for potential acquisitions this year, will consider buying what’s left of Vodafone after the Verizon Wireless deal, people briefed on its strategy say, asking not to be named discussing internal deliberations. AT&T could pay about £80 billion ($124 billion) for Vodafone, according to Bienenstock. The company will still have large mobile operations in countries such as the U.K., Germany, Italy, and India, along with subsidiary Vodacom, one of Africa’s biggest mobile telephone companies.