MONTPELIER, Vermont --  The Vermont Public Service Board today denied approval of the transaction between Verizon and FairPoint.  The Board noted that its order did not consider the terms of the stipulation recently filed by the parties in Maine, and invited the applicants to submit a proposal to address its remaining concerns.

Verizon and FairPoint announced in January definitive agreements that will result in Verizon establishing a separate entity for its local exchange and related business assets in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and then spinning off that new entity to Verizon’s stockholders and merging it with and into FairPoint.  The transaction requires approval by the three states’ regulatory agencies and by the Federal Communications Commission.

The following response should be attributed to Polly Brown, Verizon state president for Vermont.

“While we had hoped the Vermont Public Service Board had approved the transaction today, its order does recognize significant benefits for consumers and business in the state.  Today’s order also invites the parties to submit a revised proposal to address the Board’s remaining concerns.  The parties will evaluate the order and respond accordingly.”