Verizon ‘Eyes Sale Of $10bn Enterprise Assets’

US telecommunications giant Verizon is looking into selling enterprise assets worth up to $10 billion (£6.6bn), including those acquired with the purchases of MCI and Terremark in recent years, reports claimed.

The US’ largest wireless communications provider is exploring the sale as it seeks to focus on its core mobile business, according to Reuters, which cited unnamed people familiar with the matter.

Data centre competition

The sale would reportedly include Terremark, Verizon’s data centre unit, acquired in 2011 for $1.4bn, which faced stiff competition from the likes of Amazon Web Services (AWS), Alphabet (formerly Google), Microsoft Azure and others.

It would also include the enterprise landline and Internet service business acquired when Verizon bought MCI for $8.4bn in 2006, the report said.

Separating Verizon’s enterprise assets would be complex and a potential buyer would probably be required to sign commercial agreements with the company, Reuters’ sources said, adding that no deal is imminent.

Verizon was reportedly in talks with fixed-line telecommunications company CenturyLink earlier this year to buy some of the assets in question but the two could not agree on terms.

Verizon has recently sold other non-wireless assets, in February selling residential landline assets worth $10.54bn to Frontier Communications and cell towers worth more than $5bn.

Mobile boost

Meanwhile, the company has made other moves this year aimed at building up its wireless business.

In September Verizon said it would hold field tests of 5G technology as early as next year, holding two pilot tests at its facilities in Massachusetts and San Francisco with the support of Alcatel-Lucent, Cisco, Ericsson, Nokia, Qualcomm and Samsung.

In May the company said it would buy AOL for $4.4bn in a bid to expand its presence in mobile video and advertising.

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