Verizon and Charter have hired advisers to explore a deal that could create the world’s largest telecoms and cable company, according to people briefed on the talks, as the US groups prepare for a radical regulatory overhaul under the Trump administration.
Talks between executives are at a very preliminary stage and no proposal is on the table yet, these people said. Yet both sides are seriously studying how to create what would be the world’s largest provider of wireless and fixed line internet access. At current stock prices, the combined company would have an equity value of $282bn, topping AT&T’s $255bn market capitalisation.