Verizon Communications was poised on Monday to take full control of its U.S. wireless business with a $130 billion deal to buy out Vodafone and end a decade-long corporate stand-off.
The British firm said late on Sunday it was in advanced talks with Verizon to sell its 45 percent stake in the Verizon Wireless joint venture for cash and common shares in what would be the world's third-largest deal of all time.
People familiar with the situation told Reuters they expected a full announcement after the London stock market closes on Monday, and after the board of Verizon meets to vote on the proposed transaction for the biggest mobile operator in the United States.
The Vodafone board has voted in principle to back the deal, one person familiar with the situation said.
The move to sell Verizon closes a heady expansionist chapter for Vodafone, one of Britain's best-known companies, which grew rapidly over the last 20 years through a spate of aggressive deals, taking its brand into more than 30 countries across Europe, Africa and India.