Vodafone denies report of Verizon talks on Sprint bid

[Mobile Mike]

LONDON (CBS.MW) -- Vodafone Group on Tuesday denied a report that said the British-based mobile network giant was backing Verizon Communications in a possible bid to buy out Sprint Corp.

The news comes as Sprint (FON: news) reportedly is on the verge of agreeing to a $35 billion merger pact with Nextel Communications (NXTL: news) . That dealt would be scuttled if Verizon (VZ: news) , the largest U.S. telephone company, were to swoop in to acquire Sprint, the No. 3 carrier in the wireless telecom market.

A spokesman for British-based Vodafone (VOD: news) said the company is "not in discussions with Verizon" regarding a possible bid for Sprint. He cited past comments by Vodafone that it's not interested in gaining any more U.S. assets.

In midday trading on Wall Street, shares of Kansas-based Sprint climbed 48 cents to $24.92. Vodafone shares, which fell as much as 4 percent earlier in London trading, lost 57 cents to $27.10 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares of Verizon were down 77 cents, or 1.9 percent, at $40.51. Nextel fell 49 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $21.58.

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