Verizon Communications would like to buy out Vodafone from their wireless joint venture, but will not do so at any cost, its chief executive told JPMorgan analysts.
In a note to clients, analyst Philip Cusick said Verizon boss Lowell McAdam had said he did not believe a premium would be required to buy Vodafone's 45 percent stake in the highly successful Verizon Wireless business, because Verizon already had control through its 55 percent holding.
Shares in both groups are up over 20 percent this year on speculation Britain's Vodafone could finally exit the leading wireless business in the U.S., a partnership the two firms' formed in 2000.
(Read More: Verizon Eyes Roughly $100 Billion Bid for Verizon Wireless Stake)