Verizon Wireless in $17 billion loan

The moribund market for corporate finance received a boost on Wednesday when Verizon Wireless, a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group, closed a $17 billion syndicated loan, the largest in the US this year. The deal, arranged by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America and Citigroup, will enable Verizon Wireless to refinance the debt it took on in June when it bought Alltel, a regional telecoms group, for $28.1bn from TPG and Goldman Sachs. The completion of the syndicated loan will dispel some fears that the tough markets would force Verizon Wireless to renege on the Alltel deal and pay a $500m break-up fee. The deal was cleared by the US Federal Communications Commission last month while the Federal Trade Commission, the antitrust regulator approved it yesterday.