It shall be unlawful for any telephone company, corporation, person, partnership, or association subject to the provisions of this chapter to purchase or acquire the property, capital stock, bonds, securities, or other obligations, or the franchises, rights, privileges, and immunities of any telephone company doing business within the state without first obtaining the consent of the commission thereto; and telephone companies, corporations, persons, partnerships, or associations are hereby given the right with the consent of the commission to purchase and acquire the property, capital stock, bonds, securities, or other obligations together with all franchises, rights, privileges, and immunities owned or enjoyed by said companies. The owner and the proposed purchaser of said property shall both join in the application filed with the commission for the approval of such transfer, and in the case of a corporation desiring to sell all of its property it shall require a vote of a majority of its stockholders to ratify the same. Telephone companies may sell and dispose of any property not used by said telephone companies in the conduct of their business at the time of the sale without the consent of the commission.

Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the holding of stock heretofore lawfully acquired or to prevent the acquisition of additional stock by any telephone company owning a majority of the stock of any telephone company.

History: (5306) 1915 c 152 s 20; 1919 c 183 s 4; 1945 c 143 s 1; 1971 c 25 s 67; 1980 c 614 s 123