Verizon Communications, the second largest US phone company, is apparently dead serious when it comes to picking up the winning bid for online movie provider Netflix Inc., at least according to an investment banker. Verizon might even be the catalyst for a bidding war, where a sale by Easter next year is not exactly off the radar, with a tune of approximately $4.6 billion being sung at that point in time, says Porter Bibb, managing partner at Mediatech Capital. “I am hearing rumblings from inside Verizon that they are very serious about either Netflix or something similar,” so so says Bibb.
Verizon is looking to expand beyond their current Fios TV service and move into the streaming-video business, and Netflix does seem to be a viable alternative, where it already boasts a market capitalization of $4.17 billion as at press time. Do you think Verizon’s move for Netflix is a step in the right direction, and how will other wireless carriers see this?