(Telecompaper) Verizon has the strength to buy Vodafone's 45 percent stake in Verizon Wireless and has always wanted to do so, CEO Lowell McAdam told the Wall Street Journal. The following day he told investors that now "would be a good time to sell" for Vodafone. Bloomberg reports that McAdam's statements pushed up Vodafone's share price by 2.8 percent to GBP 1.64 after the market opened in London on 8 January, valuing the company at GBP 80.5 billion. Analysts doubt whether Verizon has enough cash to buy out Vodafone, but could purchase a large part of its stake in cash and the remainder in Verizon shares. Vodafone has not commented on the news, but Bloomberg reports that Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao said last November that he would not rule out selling the Verizon Wireless stake.