BT Group and Verizon have agreed to form a joint venture combining their international enterprise operations.
Verizon has agreed to pay BT an equalisation payment of $625 million as part of the deal, with both holding equal voting rights following expected completion in 2027.
The new company will serve more than 3,000 customers across more than 180 countries, representing approx. $4 billion in combined annual revenue.
Martijn Blanken has been appointed CEO-designate of the new joint venture, conditional on completion of the transaction. He has almost three decades in senior leadership positions across telecommunications, technology and digital infrastructure at Telstra, Openwave Systems, EXA Infrastructure and KPN, and a career spanning four continents.
From 1st September he will join BT and will work with both parent companies, while observing relevant regulatory requirements, as they prepare for the launch of the proposed joint venture.
BT chief executive Allison Kirkby has been looking to refocus BT, founded 180 years ago, on its home UK market and shed international assets.
Meanwhile Verizon CEO Dan Schulman has been looking to turn around the US wireless carrier.
Clive Selley will continue to lead BT International as CEO, ensuring continuity of BT International’s ongoing transformation in readiness for the creation of the joint venture. Verizon’s leadership remains unchanged.
“The world’s leading brands and international organisations trust BT International to connect them across the world. Bringing together this expertise and heritage with Verizon’s deep relationships with multinationals will create a stronger, scaled connectivity partner – one that has the reach, innovation and investment to succeed,” said Kirby.
“Customers will benefit from new, secure and resilient connectivity platforms, which are designed for the age of AI and sovereign where it matters. It will create new opportunities for our people and long-term value for our owners.
“Today’s announcement marks a major milestone for BT International, and an important step forward for BT as a whole, as we deliver on our UK-focused strategy.”
Schulman said: “Our international customers require secure, flexible connectivity that works seamlessly across borders and cloud environments.
“When we thought about how to best support them, this joint venture was the clear answer: a cutting-edge, AI-ready and secure platform run by a single global organization dedicated to their needs.
“At the same time, our relationship with those customers will stay equally strong as we continue to directly provide them with the connectivity they need in the US.”