Verizon CEO denies Verizon Wireless buyout talks with Vodafone

Verizon Communications is not in talks with Vodafone Group Plc about taking full ownership of their Verizon Wireless venture, despite market speculation this week that such a deal could happen, Verizon's top executive said.

"There's no discussions about it," Verizon Chief Executive Lowell McAdam told Reuters late on Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Verizon, which owns 55 percent of the wireless venture, has long said that it would be interested in buying out Vodafone if the 45 percent owner would sell its stake.

Vodafone shares rose 2.6 percent on Tuesday and added almost 8 points to the FTSE 100 Index, the UK benchmark, after McAdam was quoted in a Dow Jones report saying that a deal could be feasible.

But McAdam said his comment did not mean that Verizon was any more likely now to be able to purchase Vodafone's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless than it was before.

"It's been feasible for 10 years," McAdams said. "There's nothing that's changed."

© Thomson Reuters 2012