Nordgaard said there’s a chance there will be no sale at all. He said the fact the potential sale landed on the pages of the Wall Street Journal points to potential problems.

“Once it’s in the press, you never know what might happen. Someone dropped it to the Wall Street Journal for a reason. It might be a competitor (of Verizon) trying to screw up their deal, drive the price up,” he said. “It’s just vicious out there — you never know who’s doing what or why.

“Obviously if Verizon’s there looking, they’ve done their homework and are interested (in Midwest Wireless). It’ll just be a question of how much pain they’re willing to take. A billion dollars is probably a bit pricey.”