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When you read phrases like "leverage takeover" and "growing group of rebel shareholders" in the financial world, it gets your attention. If the rumor that Vodafone is planning a Verizon buyout, it'll get everybody's attention.

If the Financial Times is right, one of the biggest acquisitions in history is on the table, creating a mega-telecom bigger than AT&T, valued at $300 billion. Of course, that means Vodafone has to come up with $160 billion to buy, and finance $75 billion of that.

But that won't happen if those rebel shareholders have their way about it, reports Paul Murphy:

News of Vodafone’s ambitions — with its stubborn commitment to continued growth by acquisition — is likely to flummox critics who have pressed chief executive Arun Sarin to scale back expansion plans and focus instead on cash generation.

Most recently, a growing group of rebel shareholders, including former Marconi boss John Mayo, has pressed for the sale of Vodafone’s 45 per cent holding in Verizon Wireless and the return of cash to investors.

But rest easy all you conspiracy theorists out there, the World Corporate Governance is put off for now. According to Reuters, Vodafone has denied that it has an interest buying Verizon.