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EXHIBIT 99.2
NEWS RELEASE
[VERIZON LOGO]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:
JUNE 30, 2000 DAVID FRAIL
212-395-7726
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS DECLARES PRO RATA DIVIDEND
NEW YORK - The board of directors of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ)
has declared a pro rata dividend ensuring that dividend payments to its
shareowners -- the former shareowners of Bell Atlantic and GTE, which completed
their merger today -- are not adversely affected by the timing of the merger.
This Verizon Communications pro rata dividend, combined with the pro
rata dividends declared on June 1 by the boards of Bell Atlantic Corp. and GTE
Corp., will result in the appropriate level of dividend payments to shareowners
of both companies and at the same time move GTE shareowners to the Verizon
Communications dividend schedule.
Verizon Communications has approximately 2.7 million individual
shareowners and approximately 2.7 billion shares of common stock outstanding.
The three pro rata dividends are described below.
VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS PRO RATA DIVIDEND
Verizon Communications will pay a pro rata dividend of $.04653847 per
share on Aug 1 to Verizon shareowners of record at the close of business on July
10. The amount covers the 11-day period from June 30 through July 10 at a rate
of $.00423077 per share per day. Over a full 91-day dividend period, that rate
equals $.385 per share, the most recent Bell Atlantic quarterly dividend.
Verizon Communications' next dividend period will run from July 11 through the
close of business on Oct. 10.
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Verizon News Release, page 2
BELL ATLANTIC PRO RATA DIVIDEND
Bell Atlantic's dividend period customarily ran from April 11 to a
record date of July 10. Since the merger was completed before July 10, Bell
Atlantic shareowners of record at the close of business on June 29 will receive
a pro rata dividend of $.33846160 per share, payable on July 21, for the 80-day
period from April 11 through June 29.
This payment is based on the per-day dividend rate of $.00423077 per
share declared by the Bell Atlantic board of directors on June 1. This per-day
rate results in $.385 per share over a full 91-day quarterly dividend period.
The Bell Atlantic pro rata dividend, combined with the Verizon pro rata
dividend, gives former Bell Atlantic shareowners the equivalent of $.385 per
share for the period from April 11 through July 10.
GTE PRO RATA DIVIDEND
GTE's dividend schedule differed from Bell Atlantic's schedule. GTE's
last quarterly dividend of $.47 per share, declared on April 6, will be paid on
July 1 to shareowners of record at the close of business on May 22.
With the completion of the merger on June 30, GTE shareowners of record
at the close of business on June 29 will receive a pro rata dividend of
$.19626392 per share, payable on July 21, for the 38-day period from May 23
through June 29. This dividend is calculated with the per-day rate of $.00516484
per share declared by the GTE board of directors on June 1. This per-day rate
equals $.47 per share through a full 91-day dividend period.
When the Verizon quarterly dividend rate of $.385 per share is
multiplied by the merger exchange ratio of 1.22 (GTE shareowners will receive
1.22 shares in Verizon Communications per GTE share), the result is equivalent
to the GTE quarterly dividend rate of $.47 per share.
Verizon Communications, formed by the merger of Bell Atlantic and GTE,
is one of the world's leading providers of communications services. Verizon
companies are the largest providers of wireline and wireless communications in
the United States, with 95 million access lines and 25 million wireless
customers. Verizon is also the world's largest provider of print and on-line
directory information. A Fortune 10 company with more than 260,000 employees and
approximately $60 billion in 1999 revenues, Verizon's global presence extends to
40 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific. For more information
on Verizon, visit www.verizon.com.
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