Bell Atlantic and GTE Complete Their Merger and Become Verizon Communications
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Become Verizon Communications
Company Will Launch on Monday With New VZ Ticker;
Board of Directors Announced
NEW YORK, June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Bell Atlantic Corp. (NYSE: BEL) and GTE
Corp. (NYSE: GTE) completed their merger today, creating Verizon
Communications, a formidable new competitor in global communications. Verizon
Communications will begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under
its new VZ symbol on Monday, July 3, with Charles R. Lee, Verizon chairman and
co-CEO, and Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon president and co-CEO, ringing the NYSE's
opening bell that morning.
The VZ symbol was selected because it uses the two letters of the Verizon
logo that graphically portray speed, while also echoing the genesis of the
company name: "veritas," connoting certainty and reliability, and "horizon,"
signifying forward-looking and visionary.
"Speed, customer service and innovation are the hallmarks of the Verizon
team," Lee said. "Our new brand and trading symbol will visibly affirm these
commitments daily to our employees, our customers and our shareholders."
"From day one, Verizon will be a leader in the communications industry,"
Seidenberg said, "with more ways to touch customers, more cash to fuel growth
and innovation, and more investment capital to deploy the technologies of the
future than any company before us."
With more than 260,000 employees, Verizon companies are the largest
providers of wireline and wireless communications in the United States, with
95 million access line equivalents and 25 million wireless customers. Verizon
also is a leading provider of high-speed data services and the world's largest
print and on-line directory company. The company's global presence extends to
some 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.
Verizon Board of Directors Announced;
Shares To Be Exchanged
The new Verizon board of directors is composed of an equal number of
former directors from Bell Atlantic and GTE. In addition to Lee and
Seidenberg, the board consists of:
-- James R. Barker, chairman, The Interlake Steamship Co. and vice
chairman of Mormac Marine Group, Inc. and Moran Towing Company
-- Edward H. Budd, retired chairman, The Travelers Corporation
-- Richard L. Carrion, chairman, president and CEO, Banco Popular de
Puerto Rico and Popular, Inc.
-- Robert F. Daniell, retired chairman, United Technologies Corporation
-- Helene L. Kaplan, of counsel to the law firm Skadden, Arps, Slate,
Meagher & Flom LLP
-- Sandra O. Moose, senior vice president and director of The Boston
Consulting Group, Inc.
-- Joseph Neubauer, chairman and CEO, ARAMARK Corporation
-- Thomas H. O'Brien , chairman and CEO, The PNC Financial Services
Group, Inc.
-- Russell E. Palmer, chairman and CEO, The Palmer Group
-- Hugh B. Price, president and CEO, National Urban League
-- Walter V. Shipley, retired chairman and CEO, The Chase Manhattan
Corporation
-- John W. Snow, chairman, president and CEO, CSX Corporation
-- John R. Stafford, chairman, president and CEO, American Home
Products Corporation
-- Robert D. Storey, partner, law firm of Thompson, Hine & Flory LLP
Under the terms of the merger agreement, GTE shareowners are receiving
1.22 shares of Verizon Communications common stock in exchange for each share
of GTE common stock owned as of June 30, 2000, the effective date of the
merger. In mid-July, former GTE shareowners will receive information relating
to the exchange of their GTE certificates for Verizon certificates.
Shareowners of the former Bell Atlantic do not have to take any action.
Verizon Communications will have approximately 2.7 million individual
shareowners, consisting of former Bell Atlantic and GTE shareowners, and
approximately 2.7 billion shares outstanding.
Regulatory Approvals Completed
Completion of the merger follows review and approvals by Bell Atlantic and
GTE shareowners, 27 state regulatory commissions and the FCC, and clearance
from the Department of Justice (DOJ), as well as completion of an initial
public offering (IPO) of Genuity (Nasdaq: GENU), GTE's Internet infrastructure
company. Divestiture of 90.5 percent of Genuity was a condition for the
approval of the merger by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and the
IPO was priced and shares commenced trading this week. Verizon maintains a
9.5 percent equity interest in Genuity, with the option to increase its
ownership to up to 80 percent in the future, once Verizon has eliminated
regulatory restrictions.
The companies also were required by the DOJ to resolve all wireless
overlaps in accordance with guidelines in a consent decree among the DOJ, the
merging companies, and Vodafone AirTouch plc, which contributed wireless
assets to Verizon Wireless in a separate transaction with Bell Atlantic. All
overlap issues were resolved by the companies through a series of transactions
and the establishment of a divestiture trust for certain properties pending
new ownership, in keeping with the consent decree.
Verizon Communications
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic
and GTE, is one of the world's leading providers of communications services.
Verizon companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless
communications in the United States, with 95 million access lines and
25 million wireless customers. A Fortune 10 company with more than 260,000
employees and approximately $60 billion in 1999 revenues, Verizon's global
presence extends to 40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the
Pacific. For more information on Verizon, visit verizon.com.
ON THE INTERNET: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and
biographies, news media contacts and other information are available at
Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web (http://www.verizon.com/news). To
receive news releases by email, visit the News Center and register for
personalized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases.
SOURCE Verizon Communications
-0- 06/30/2000
/NOTE TO EDITORS: A video news release with footage of Charles Lee and
Ivan Seidenberg, the co-CEOs of Verizon, completing merger documents of the
new company and also including B-roll of the merged companies' operations will
be available today (6/30) via satellite feed. The feed will be broadcast
from 4:00 to 4:15 p.m. Eastern time. The coordinates are C-Band: Galaxy 3,
Transponder 15, Audio 6.2 and 6.8.
Media wanting to cover Lee and Seidenberg opening the New York Stock
exchange on Monday, July 3, can contact Robert Varettoni at 212-395-0500./
/CONTACT: Peter Thonis, 212-395-0500, 972-507-5367, or David Frail,
212-395-7726, both for Verizon/
/Company News On-Call: prnewswire.com or fax,
800-758-5804, ext. 094251/
/Web site: verizon.com
ba.com
(BEL GTE VZ GENU)
CO: Bell Atlantic Corp; GTE Corp.; Verizon Communications; Genuity
ST: New York
IN: TLS MLM
SU: TNM PER
WR
-- NYF047 --
1393 06/30/2000 11:38 EDT prnewswire.com |
