Looking to appease shareholders, Vodafone Group plc (VOD), which is currently the world’s second largest wireless operator, said it was selling its 3.2% stake in the world’s largest operator China Mobile Ltd.
Vodafone said the sale of more than 640 million shares of China Mobile’s stock was valued at nearly $6.7 billion, and that it would use 70% of the proceeds to buy back shares of its own stock from investors with the rest going towards reducing debt. Vodafone had originally invested in China Mobile in 2000.
Despite the sale, Vodafone said the two operators would continue commercial and technology cooperation.
Vodafone, which also controls 45% of Verizon Wireless (VZ), counted approximately 347 million proportionate customers across its wholly-owned operations and investments in other operators spreading across 30 countries. Vodafone’s investment in China Mobile, which counts more than 540 million customers, represents about 20 million proportionate customers.
Vodafone’s stock was trading up more than 1% on the NASDAQ exchange following the news.
Vodafone sells China Mobile stake
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