Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
Two big phone and internet companies, BT and Verizon, are joining part of their business together.
They will form one new company. Each side will own half of it.
The new company will help big businesses connect around the world. It will work in more than 180 countries.
The new company is worth about 4 billion dollars. It should fully start in 2027.
- joint venture
- a new business formed when two companies work together and share ownership
- combine
- to join two or more things together
- enterprise
- a business or company, especially a large one
- connectivity
- the ability to connect to networks like phone or internet systems
- customer
- a person or company that buys goods or services
- multinational
- operating in many different countries
- billion
- the number 1,000,000,000, a thousand million
- launch
- the official start of something new, like a business or product
Level 2 — Elementary
BT Group and Verizon have announced plans to combine their international enterprise connectivity businesses into a single new company.
The new company will be a 50:50 joint venture, meaning BT and Verizon will each hold equal ownership and voting rights.
The combined business is expected to serve more than 3,000 multinational customers across over 180 countries, representing roughly $4 billion in combined annual revenue.
As part of the deal, Verizon will pay BT an equalization payment of $625 million, and the transaction is expected to be completed sometime in 2027, pending regulatory approval.
- ownership
- the state of legally owning something
- voting rights
- the power to vote on decisions within a company
- annual revenue
- the total money a company earns in one year
- equalization payment
- a payment made to make two sides of a deal fair or equal in value
- transaction
- a business deal or exchange
- regulatory approval
- official permission from government agencies before a deal can proceed
- pending
- waiting to be decided or completed
- combined
- joined together as one
Level 3 — Intermediate
BT Group and Verizon have signed an agreement to combine their respective international enterprise operations into a 50:50 joint venture, merging BT International's secure communications and network services with Verizon's international enterprise wireline business.
The combined entity is projected to serve more than 3,000 multinational customers across more than 180 countries, representing approximately $4 billion in combined annual revenue and positioning it as a major player in global corporate connectivity.
Under the terms of the deal, Verizon has agreed to pay BT an equalization payment of $625 million to account for differences in the value each company is contributing to the new venture, with both parents holding equal voting rights going forward.
Martijn Blanken has been named CEO-designate of the new company and will join BT beginning September 1, 2026, to help prepare for a launch expected in 2027, subject to shareholder and regulatory clearances in the markets where the venture will operate.
- entity
- a distinct and independent organization or business
- wireline
- telecommunications services delivered through physical cables rather than wireless signals
- terms of the deal
- the specific conditions and details agreed upon in a business arrangement
- parent company
- a company that owns or controls another, smaller company
- CEO-designate
- a person chosen to become chief executive officer but who has not yet formally started the role
- shareholder
- a person or organization that owns shares, or stock, in a company
- clearance
- official permission required before an action can proceed
- corporate connectivity
- the network and communication services businesses use to operate across locations
Level 4 — Advanced
BT Group and Verizon have formalized an agreement to fold their respective international enterprise operations into a jointly held venture, merging BT International's portfolio of secure, resilient network services for multinational clients with Verizon's international enterprise wireline unit under a single 50:50 ownership structure.
The resulting entity is projected to command roughly $4 billion in combined annual revenue while serving upward of 3,000 multinational customers across more than 180 countries, a scale that positions it to compete directly with established global carriers for the connectivity contracts of the world's largest corporations.
Verizon's agreement to remit a $625 million equalization payment to BT reflects the asymmetry in the assets each parent is contributing, a mechanism common in joint ventures designed to preserve parity of ownership despite unequal underlying business value.
With Martijn Blanken installed as CEO-designate ahead of a planned 2027 completion, the venture's progress will hinge on securing shareholder and antitrust clearances across the numerous jurisdictions in which the combined business will operate, underscoring the regulatory complexity inherent in cross-border telecommunications consolidation.
- fold into
- to combine or merge one thing into a larger structure
- portfolio
- the full collection of services, products, or assets a company offers
- command
- here, to hold or generate an amount, such as revenue
- asymmetry
- a lack of equality or balance between two things
- parity
- the state of being equal, especially in status or value
- remit
- to send money as payment
- antitrust
- relating to laws designed to prevent unfair business monopolies and promote competition
- jurisdiction
- an area or country where a particular set of laws applies
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