Verizon Buys UNICEL for $2.67 Billion

Verizon Wireless has agreed to acquire Rural Cellular (UNICEL) for about $2.67 billion in cash, the two companies said on Monday. Rural serves about 716,000 customers across 15 states in New England, the Plains states, the Southeast, and the Pacific Northwest. Verizon service will cover an additional 4.7 million potential customers as a result of the transaction, and expand its coverage in rural locations, it said.

The deal is expected to close early next year. Rural uses both GSM and CDMA technologies. Those customers using GSM would be converted to CDMA, however Verizon plans to keep Rural's GSM network active in order to resell it for other GSM carriers to roam on. "Today, as the wireless industry continues to evolve, our Board of Directors has concluded that it is in the company's best interest to enter into a sale transaction with Verizon Wireless," Rural CEO president and CEO Richard Ekstrand said of the sale.

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