Verizon needs $8B for airwave licenses

Implications: Further to my recent analysis above on Vodafone and Verizon, and Verizon's future capex spend:- Today Verizon announced that it:- " NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Verizon says it intends to sell $8 billion of of stock and debt notes to help finance the company's recent $9.36 billion acquisition of federal airwave licenses, according to a filing Tuesday. The New York phone giant hopes to build a fourth generation nationwide network using the swath of 700 megahertz radio frequencies. Verizon (VZ, Fortune 500) needs to make a $1.4 billion down payment by Thursday on top of the $500 million installment made at the beginning of the Federal Communications Commission auction. The remaining $7.5 billion is due on April 17, hence the trip to the capital markets."

Analysis: This is even more impetus for Vodafone to either realise a gain or 'put up and shut up'

Presumably this action will depress Vodafone's realisable gain on its holding, subject to a tax treatment it may be able to apply.

Also from Fortune:-

This isn't great timing for a massive new debt offering, given the recent stickiness in the credit markets. And Verizon already has $31.1 billion in total debt on its books and only $1.15 billion in cash and cash equivalents as of the beginning of 2008. The company manage to sell some of its rural operations - phone lines in Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire to FairPoint Communications (FRP) this week - but only realized $2.3 billion, short of the $2.7 billion the company had hoped for.

The company says that due to an anti-collusion quiet period, it cannot comment on the financing move until Thursday. A representative says he expects the company will hold a conference call with investors and analysts as early as Friday to discuss the wireless financing plan.