Vermont approves FairPoint/Verizon deal

The Vermont Public Service Board finally approved FairPoint Communications' proposed acquisition of Verizon Communications properties in Vermont, Maine and New Hampshire. The agency approved a revised proposal that had been submitted by FairPoint last month after its original proposal was rejected in December.

Though FairPoint made several concessions to regulators concerns in the revision, it still wasn't quite enough. Approving the deal Vermont regulators asked for Verizon to provide about $25 million in financial concessions that hadn't been anticipated by FairPoint or Verizon, according to FairPoint's CEO. Could that put this long-awaited, but already much-encumbered deal in jeopardy?

For more:
- check out this coverage in The Burlington Free Press

Related articles:
- FairPoint has been waiting for a ruling in Vermont since last month