We knew for some time now that Vodafone wants to sell its 44% stake in French SFR, which it co-owns with Vivendi. The rumor is that the deal will be announced shortly and that the Big Red will get about 7 billion GBP out of it and eventually use that money to buy back its own stock at some point next year.
At the same time, Vodafone is also looking to sell its 24% stake in Poland’s Polkomtel for 800 million GBP.
If you remember, the group sold its interest in China Mobile for 4.3 billion GBP in September. Moreover, Voda said it will “accelerate” the sale of its stake in Japanese operator SoftBank.
However, Vodafone is not expected to offload its other high-profile minority stake – a 45% holding in Verizon Wireless.
In addition to buying back its stock, is there something else Vodafone plans to do with all that cash? Invest in other emerging markets perhaps? Strengthen its position in India? We’ll definitely follow every step they make. 😉
[Via: MobileBusinessBriefing]