The Little Rock, Ark., company, which serves 12 million mobile phone subscribers in 35 states, signed a deal to be bought by TPG Capital and the private equity division of Goldman Sachs Group. The two investment companies will pay US$71.50 per share for Alltel stock.

Alltel's board of directors has approved the merger, but it still faces a shareholder vote and regulatory approval, the company said in a statement. Alltel CEO Scott Ford will remain at his post after the deal, as will most of Alltel's management team. Alltel's revenue in 2006 totaled $7.9 billion, up 20 percent over 2005. The company mainly operates in the U.S. Midwest and Southeast.

The deal could speed up other rumored acquisitions in North America. Three investment firms have reportedly been seeking partners to bid for BCE, the Canadian telecommunications company, and rumors purport that a few groups are interested in Sprint Nextel.

Last year, AT&T finalized a US$86 billion deal to buy BellSouth, the largest telecommunications merger in U.S. history. The deal left just two major telecom vendors standing in the United States: AT&T and Verizon Communications. Some pundits fear these huge telecommunications deals could result in higher prices for users because there are fewer competitors. But others argue that increased competition from cable operators and wireless companies should keep prices under control.

Alltel hopes to close the deal by the end of 2007, or the first quarter of 2008, it said. Alltel became a pure wireless company last year after spinning off its wireline business to form Windstream. In addition to mobile phone services, the company is among a few firms working to offer WiMax wireless Internet access to users.