BT and Verizon have ended the British telecoms giant's lengthy hunt for a buyer by agreeing to merge their international businesses into a 50/50 joint venture, the companies announced Monday.
Verizon will pay BT a $625 million equalization fee to secure equal voting rights in the new partnership. The combined entity will operate across roughly 180 countries with more than 3,000 customers and $4 billion in annual revenue.
The deal closes the book on an 18-month search that BT chief executive Allison Kirkby launched as part of her strategy to concentrate the company's focus on the UK market. Kirkby, who took the helm in February 2024, has pursued an aggressive restructuring agenda designed to streamline operations and cut costs.
"This marks an important step forward for BT as a whole, as we deliver on our UK-focused strategy," Kirkby said in a statement.
Since arriving at BT, Kirkby has overseen a multibillion-pound cost-reduction program. In recent weeks, she announced plans to increase BT's savings target to £3.7 billion by 2030, up from the original £3 billion target set for 2029. The restructuring will reshape the workforce, with headcount expected to fall to between 75,000 and 80,000 by decade's end.
Her aggressive approach has been rewarded on Wall Street. BT shares have climbed more than 70 percent since Kirkby assumed control, and her compensation package more than doubled last year to £5.6 million, marking the largest executive pay boost the telecoms firm has awarded in over a decade.
Verizon has pursued its own efficiency drive. In November, the U.S. carrier announced plans to eliminate roughly 13,000 jobs as part of efforts to streamline operations. Chief executive David Schulman said at the time that the company needed to "simplify our operations to address the complexity and friction that slow us down and frustrate our customers."
Schulman told employees the joint venture with BT would operate as "a cutting-edge, AI-ready and secure platform run by a single global organisation" focused on serving customer needs.
Martijn Blanken, a former Telstra executive, will head the new business. The venture will be registered in Jersey and based in the UK for tax purposes.
Regulatory approvals and employee consultation in certain countries remain conditions for closing. Until the transaction officially completes, both companies' international operations will continue running separately.
Author James Rodriguez: "This deal represents a pragmatic exit for BT's international ambitions and signals that the mega-telecoms consolidation wave shows no signs of slowing."
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