AT&T Said to Explore Vodafone Takeover as Soon as Next Year

AT&T Inc. executives are laying the groundwork internally for a potential takeover of Vodafone Group Plc next year, mapping out a strategy for a complex deal with Europe’s largest mobile carrier, people familiar with the situation said.

While the companies haven’t entered formal negotiations, the largest U.S. phone company is intensifying work on which Vodafone assets it would retain after a deal and who could buy others, the people said, declining to be identified discussing private deliberations. AT&T, which remains interested in U.K. carrier EE as an alternative target, is also formulating a strategy for Vodafone’s operations in Europe, where mobile broadband adoption has lagged the U.S., the people said.