Vodafone to hang on to Verizon stake
For our money, nothing beats a little corporate rumor mill talk around the Engadget water cooler. Actually, that's not even remotely true, we'd much rather be playing with a new phone -- but be that as it may, this is a biggie and it's probably of interest to pretty much anyone using a phone in Europe or the US. Hot on the heels of a denial that it intends to snap up Verizon wholesale, Vodafone now finds itself in the opposite position of denying that it plans to sell its stake in Verizon Wireless (which, for the record, is technically a joint venture between Vodafone and Verizon Communications). It turns out there's a clause in Vodafone's contract that gives it the option of selling $10 billion worth of Verizon Wireless back to Verizon, but according to Vodafone, the company believes that hanging on to that little token "is in the best interest of shareholders."
