BT and Verizon to Form 50:50 International Joint Venture

BT and Verizon said they will combine their international businesses in a 50:50 joint venture, creating a new global telecoms platform focused on serving multinational customers across borders and cloud environments.

The deal gives BT a way out of a long-troubled international arm and gives Verizon more scale in enterprise connectivity. BT said the combined business would generate about $4 billion in annual revenue and would serve more than 3,000 customers in about 180 countries.

Verizon will pay BT a $625 million equalisation payment to balance the structure and secure equal ownership and voting rights. The transaction is expected to close in 2027, but it still needs regulatory approvals and employee consultations.

Martijn Blanken was named chief executive officer-designate of the new venture. BT said the business will be headquartered in the UK, while FT coverage said it will be incorporated in Jersey and tax resident in the UK.

Why BT is reshaping the business

BT has been trying to reshape or dispose of parts of its international business for more than 18 months, according to background reporting around the deal. The division has been a drag on BT's growth story and has sat awkwardly alongside the group's broader effort to concentrate on the UK.

Chief executive Allison Kirkby has been pushing a UK-focused strategy and broader cost cuts. BT said the move supports that strategy, giving it a cleaner portfolio and reducing exposure to a business that has complicated the company's investment case.

The scale of the carve-out is significant. The international unit spans roughly 180 countries and supports more than 3,000 customer relationships, so the transaction is not a simple asset sale but a restructuring of a large cross-border services business embedded in BT's enterprise offering.

What Verizon gains

For Verizon, the transaction expands its reach in enterprise connectivity and gives it more scale with multinational customers. Verizon said the venture would help it serve international clients with secure, flexible connectivity across borders and cloud environments.

That puts the deal in the context of Verizon Business's efforts to deepen its role with large global accounts. Instead of building the business alone, Verizon is pairing its enterprise capabilities with BT's international footprint.

The 50:50 structure also suggests both sides see strategic value in keeping the business jointly aligned rather than pursuing an outright sale or breakup. The equalisation payment reflects the balancing act needed to make that ownership split work.

Financial impact

BT said its international division will be treated as a discontinued operation for fiscal 2027 guidance. After the announcement, the company lowered its outlook for that year.

BT cut fiscal 2027 adjusted revenue guidance to £17.1 billion-£17.6 billion from £19 billion-£19.5 billion. It also reduced its fiscal 2027 adjusted EBITDA guidance to £8.1 billion-£8.2 billion from £8.2 billion-£8.3 billion.

Those changes show the transaction is already affecting BT's financial profile, even though closing is still expected only in 2027. Investors will be watching for more detail on the balance sheet and any further guidance updates as the deal progresses.

What happens next

The deal still needs regulatory approvals and employee consultations, either of which could affect timing or terms. The companies have not yet disclosed the venture's name, and further detail on governance and branding may follow.

The approval process is likely to be complex because the business spans many markets. BT and Verizon will also need to work through operational questions around management, integration and the treatment of staff.

The new venture could also matter beyond the two companies involved. If it closes as planned, the combination may influence future telecom consolidation in global enterprise services, where scale and cross-border reach are increasingly important.

For now, the transaction marks a major reset for BT's portfolio and a deliberate expansion step for Verizon. The companies are trying to turn two strategically awkward international businesses into a single global platform.

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