Verizon Communications, the second-largest US telecoms group, is in talks to acquire Alltel, the fifth-largest US mobile network operator, for $27bn in cash and paper, reports the FT. The talks come just six months after Alltel was bought for $27.5bn by TPG Capital and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. If completed, the deal would catapult Verizon Wireless, the joint venture between Verizon Communications and UK’s Vodafone, back to the top US slot, ahead of AT&T’s mobile unit. Details of the proposed deal, first reported by CNBC, are still being worked out. The WSJ reports that a sale could raise questions about Goldman’s multiple roles in the deal: as an investor in last year’s deal; a provider of financing for it; and as an adviser to Alltel on the potential sale to Verizon.