Leading American telecom carrier, Verizon has said that it is holding discussions with UK-based global telecom player, Vodafone for acquiring its stake in Verizon Wireless.

Verizon Communications is holding talks with Vodafone to acquire its 45 per cent stake in Verizon Wireless in a deal that could be valued at around $125 billion. The deal, which has been on the planning board for Verizon for some time, will be among the largest purchases in the industry. Following the deal, the company will be able to fully incorporate all of its profit instead of relying on dividends.

The deal will allow Verizon to have a complete control over its wireless business including profit as advertisers, content distributors and wireless carriers move to smartphones and increase usage of mobile data and information services. Taking control of the unit will allow the company to better integrate its product offerings between wire line and wireless products. Experts have said that the customers will not see any changes to their services in the short term.

Verizon is currently the leading telecoms service provider in the US market but it is facing stiff competition from AT&T.