Verizon’s $130 billion acquisition of Vodafone’s stake in their US joint venture, Verizon Wireless, is the largest transaction so far this year in what is shaping up as a strong year for mergers and acquisitions in the telecoms sector.

It was also the second biggest M&A deal on record after another Vodafone transaction, its $172 billion acquisition of Mannesman in 1999. The deal was the culmination of a decade of talks but partly triggered by fears over rising interest rates. Every slight rise in the borrowing rates had the potential to cost Verizon millions of dollars of additional interest on the $61 billion in bridge loans. The majority of that financing - $49 billion - has since been taken out in the bond markets to help fund the deal.