Verizon Communications has been vocal about its desire to buy Vodafone’s portion of the Verizon Wireless venture. Now, Verizon has hired banking and legal advisers to prepare a possible $100 billion cash-and-stock bid for the 45 percent of the wireless carrier it does not own, according to Reuters, which cites two unidentified people familiar with the matter.
Vodafone’s shares rose in trading in London on Thursday. The Reuters report says the latest move by Verizon is being seen as an “attempt to force Vodafone in to serious talks.†Verizon, the report continues, “hopes to start discussions with Vodafone soon for a friendly agreement but is prepared to take a bid public if the British company does not engage, one of the sources added.†In the beginning of April, The Financial Times’s Alphaville blog said that Verizon was working with AT&T on a potential bid for Vodafone itself.
With Verizon’s stock price near its highest level in a year, and with debt cheap, it is not hard to see why the company might be making a move, The Wall Street Journal’s Corporate Intelligence blog writes. “What it could really use at this point is a seller.â€
BERNANKE’S POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR  | Janet L. Yellen, vice chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, “has played a leading role in cementing the central bank’s commitment to keep prices rising about 2 percent each year,†Binyamin Appelbaum writes in The New York Times. “Ms. Yellen is now widely viewed as a logical candidate to succeed the current Fed chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, when his term ends in January 2014. She has worked closely with him in shaping and building support for the Fed’s campaign to stimulate the economy and bring down unemployment.â€
“But some of Ms. Yellen’s critics remain wary. They worry that she would not be sufficiently concerned about the possibility that inflation will accelerate as the economic recovery gains strength. If nominated, she could face opposition from Senate Republicans who have repeatedly expressed concern that the Fed’s campaign would destabilize financial markets and make controlling the pace of inflation more difficult.â€
Still, even some of Ms. Yellen’s critics hold her in high regard. “Intuitions are useless,†said Alan Greenspan, a former Fed chairman. “Janet’s conversation and her presentations were factually based, and that always got my attention.â€
DOWN PAYMENTS ARE AT THE HEART OF MORTGAGE DEBATE  | “It seemed an easy fix to prevent the excesses of the housing market: make home buyers put more money down. But as the housing market starts to return and the subprime mess fades from memory, the issue is up for debate,†DealBook’s Peter Eavis writes. “Lenders and consumer advocates â€" rarely on the same side of the issue â€" are now cautioning against down payment requirements. They argue that such restrictions could limit lending, and prevent lower-income borrowers from buying homes. They also contend that the new mortgage rules put in place this year will do enough to limit foreclosures, making down payment requirements somewhat superfluous.â€
ON THE AGENDA Â |Â K.K.R. reports earnings before the market opens. Amazon and Starbucks report earnings on Thursday evening. The Financial Stability Oversight Council is expected to release a report on possible threats to the financial system. Gary D. Cohn, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, is on CNBC at 10:15 a.m. Steve Case, the AOL co-founder who runs the Revolution venture capital fund, is on Bloomberg TV at 3 p.m.
FIAT’S PLAN FOR CHRYSLER  | Fiat is developing a plan to buy the stake in the Chrysler Group it does not already own, and then take the combined company public in the United States, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cites unidentified people familiar with the matter. The Italian automaker is in talks with investment banks over financing a purchase of the 41.5 percent of Chrysler owned by a retiree trust, the newspaper says. Fiat and the trust “are wrangling in court over a price for a portion of the trust’s stake. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Thursday before a state court in Delaware.â€
Fund Manager Sells Dell Shares After Blackstone Pulls Out  | A portfolio manager at Oakmark Funds said Blackstone’s decision to leave the bidding for Dell “changed our thesis for owning Dell,†Reuters reports. REUTERS
Actian to Buy ParAccel, a ‘Big Data’ Start-Up  | The deal is “Actian’s third significant acquisition since 2011,†AllThingsD reports. ALLTHINGSD
MetroPCS Shareholders Approve Revised T-Mobile Deal  | Shareholders of the cellphone service provider MetroPCS overwhelmingly approved a sweetened takeover bid by Deutsche Telekom’s T-Mobile USA unit on Wednesday, after a months-long battle with hedge funds dissatisfied with the original deal. DealBook »
Georgia-Pacific to Buy Buckeye Technologies for $1.5 Billion  | Georgia-Pacific agreed on Wednesday to buy Buckeye Technologies, a maker of specialty fibers, for about $1.5 billion. DealBook »
Arseus of Belgium Buys Freedom Pharmaceuticals  |Â
REUTERS
Santander Earnings Slump on Weak Economy  | Banco Santander of Spain said first-quarter net profit fell 26 percent, hurt by continuing troubles in Spain and a slowdown in developing economies. DealBook »
GE Capital Stops Consumer Financing for Gun Shops  | GE Capital cited “industry changes, new legislation and tragic events.†NEW YORK TIMES
Comparing the Valuations Behind Amazon and Apple Shares  | Investors seem to be starry-eyed about Amazon’s valuation, particularly when compared with Apple’s. DEALBOOK
European Bonds Rise as Economies Sink  |Â
WALL STREET JOURNAL
In Defense of Regulatory Capital Trades  | The transactions that have come under a spotlight are valid and effective tools for banks to reduce risk while enabling them to continue to run their core businesses, which are at the heart of the economic recovery, Glenn Blasius, the chief executive of Ovid Capital Advisors, writes in the Another View column. DealBook »
Guggenheim Hires Lehman Veteran in Continued Hiring Spree  | The arrival of Glenn Schiffman, a former senior banker at Lehman Brothers and Nomura, signals the continuing growth of Guggenheim Partners, which has sought to bolster its investment banking arm. DealBook »
Jefferies Expands Into Thai Equities  |Â
WALL STREET JOURNAL
Permira Goes Small With Latest Fund  | The European private equity firm Permira attracted 2.2 billion euros ($2.9 billion) for a new fund, “taking it only halfway towards a fund-raising target that is a fraction of its last pool of capital,†The Financial Times reports. FINANCIAL TIMES
Caesars Blinds Market With Science  | The private equity owners behind Caesars Entertainment have been working overtime in their financial laboratory, Jeffrey Goldfarb of Reuters Breakingviews writes. REUTERS BREAKINGVIEWS
Blackstone Buys 1,400 Properties in Atlanta  | The deal by the Blackstone Group was “the biggest bulk purchase for the fledgling homes-for-lease industry,†according to Bloomberg News. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Lansdowne Abandons Bet Against British Insurer  | The hedge fund Lansdowne Partners said it experienced “meaningful†losses on its four-year-old bet against Prudential, the British insurer, Bloomberg News reports. BLOOMBERG NEWS
Olam Announces Changes After Pressure From Short-Seller  | Olam International said it would reduce its debt and slow its pace of investment, “addressing some of the key concerns raised by a short-seller, Carson Block, who attacked the company’s shares in November,†The Wall Street Journal reports. WALL STREET JOURNAL
Paulson Sticks With Gold, Despite Volatility  |Â
REUTERS
With Revenue in Decline, Zynga Bets on a New Game  | “The company hopes that a new game, which it is releasing Wednesday evening, will be the beginning of a new chapter,†The New York Times writes. NEW YORK TIMES
Emergency Medical Services Said to Pick Banks for I.P.O. Â |Â Emergency Medical Services, which provides ambulance services, is backed by Clayton, Dubilier & Rice. REUTERS
Real Estate Trust Raises $292 Million in Singapore  | The Croesus Retail Trust, which is focused on Japan, priced its initial public offering in Singapore, amid “a surge in demand for real estate investment trusts,†Reuters reports. REUTERS
The Return of Jon Winkelried, Sort of  | Last month, Thrive hired Jon Winkelried, a former Goldman Sachs executive, as a strategic adviser to provide guidance as the three-year-old venture capital firm continues to expand. DealBook »
Capital One Settles Accusations It Understated Loan Losses  | Federal regulators accused Capital One and two of its executives of lowballing millions of dollars in auto loan losses experienced during the financial crisis. DealBook »
Britain Avoids a ‘Triple Dip’  | According to official estimates released on Thursday, Britain’s economy avoided entering a third recession in five years. NEW YORK TIMES
Strategic Posturing Behind the Suit Against Corzine  | Unlike in many other cases, Louis J. Freeh has not named MF Global’s directors as defendants in his lawsuit against Jon S. Corzine and two other former executives. That is a critical part of his legal strategy, Steven M. Davidoff and Peter J. Henning write in the Deal Professor column. DealBook »
Make Wall Street Choose: Go Small or Go Home  | In an Op-Ed in The New York Times, Senators Sherrod Brown and David Vitter describe how they plan to end the “too big to fail†system for banks. “It’s a ‘heads the megabanks win, tails the taxpayers lose’ scenario, one that discourages innovation and competition and is distinctly un-American,†the senators write. DealBook »
