BT and Verizon to create joint global business in $625m deal | BT

BT and US mobile company Verizon will merge their international businesses, ending the British telecoms group’s search for a buyer that has lasted more than 18 months.

Verizon will pay BT a $625 million (£473 million) “equalization” fee to guarantee equal voting rights in the new 50/50 joint venture, the companies announced on Monday. The deal is expected to create a company with more than 3,000 customers in approximately 180 countries and total annual revenue of $4 billion.

It marks the end of BT’s long search to find a buyer for its international business, as BT’s chief executive Allison Kirkby works to refocus the company on the UK market.

He said the deal was “an important step forward for BT as a whole as we deliver on our UK-focused strategy”.

Kirkby, who is a BT board member and took the helm in February 2024, has overseen a multi-billion pound cost-cutting program across the company. Last month he said BT would increase its savings target from £3bn by 2029 to £3.7bn by 2030.

BT’s headcount is expected to end the decade at between 75,000 and 80,000, towards the lower end of the 75,000 to 90,000 range set in 2023.

Kirkby’s pay and bonus package more than doubled last year to £5.6 million; This represented the largest pay award to a telecommunications company boss in more than a decade. BT’s shares have risen more than 70% since he took office.

Verizon also cut costs, announcing in November that it would cut nearly 13,000 jobs across the organization. The company’s CEO, David Schulman, told employees at the time that the company needed to “simplify our operations to address the complexity and friction that slows us down and frustrates our customers.”

The joint venture with BT “will deliver a cutting-edge, AI-ready and secure platform run by a single global organization,” it said in a statement on Monday. [customer] needs”.

The new business will be led by Martijn Blanken, a former executive at Australian telecoms company Telstra. The company will be incorporated in Jersey and will be headquartered and tax resident in the United Kingdom, the companies said.

The deal is still subject to regulatory approvals and consultations with employee representatives in some countries. The international businesses will “operate independently” until the transaction is officially completed, the companies said.