Frontier Communications has announced that its shareholders have today (November 13) voted in favor of Verizon's proposed acquisition of the company.

The $20 billion deal, comprising $10.4 billion of debt and $9.6 billion in cash, was approved after 63 percent of stockholders voted for the deal, including ten of the company's top 12 stockholders, Frontier said.

The deal has been given the green light despite a lot of noise from several Frontier investors, who claimed that Verizon's bid undervalued the company.

Frontier shareholders including Glendon Capital Management, Cooper Investors Pty Limited, and Cerberus all raised concerns.

Glendon Capital stated last month that under the current terms, "Verizon would be walking away with a steal."

Announced in September, the deal will see Verizon bolster its fiber network to compete with rival telco AT&T.

Under the agreement, Verizon is set to buy Frontier for $38.50 per share in cash. Verizon currently serves close to eight million fiber customers, while Frontier has around 2.2 million.

“Today’s vote demonstrates the strong value of the fiber business we have built over the past four years and our ability to expand access to reliable connectivity for more Americans,” said Nick Jeffery, president and CEO of Frontier.

“We look forward to closing this transaction by the first quarter of 2026 and beginning to deliver our premium fiber offering to millions more customers across our combined network.”

Frontier said it added 108,000 fiber broadband customers, up 19.3 percent year on year for the third quarter, while it also passed an additional 381,000 fiber passings to reach 7.6 million total locations.

Paul Carter, CEO of network analysis firm GWS, told DCD that the deal will significantly boost Verizon's fiber play in the US.

“Verizon’s attempted acquisition of Frontier appears to be a strong strategic move for an operator that is already leading the way in terms of its broadband performance in the US. Frontier has a sizable fiber broadband footprint in areas where Verizon doesn’t (not to mention Frontier also has quite a few customers still connected via DSL)," said Carter. 

"Whether it’s direct to the customer or used for backhaul, fiber is a cornerstone of high-speed broadband that can be delivered to a mass market - by acquiring Frontier’s assets, Verizon will be bolstering its broadband capacity and accelerating its growth in offering high-speed Internet services."