Sarin to bow out of Vodafone: Carrier’s stake in VZW may be reconsidered

Vodafone Group Plc will say goodbye to its fearless leader. After five years as CEO, Arun Sarin is retiring at the end of July. Vittorio Colao will take his place; Colao has been with Vodafone for almost two years, coming on as head of the carrier’s European business.
During Sarin’s stint with Vodafone he oversaw the acquisition of Hutchison Essar in India, the largest foreign investment made in the country, and expanded Vodafone into emerging markets including Romania, Czech Republic and Turkey.
One question likely to arise from the news is the status of Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless. Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless and, over the years, Verizon has made it know that it would like nothing more than to buy out Vodafone and own Verizon Wireless at 100%.
However, Sarin always remained firm that Vodafone would remain linked to the large U.S. carrier and had no plans of selling its stake in the foreseeable future. It’s likely that Sarin’s successor, Colao, will continue to maintain the relationship, but only time will tell.