Vodafone to divest France interests

Just days after announcing plans to increase its stake in the Indian market, Vodafone Group plc (VOD) said it plans to sell its stake in French wireless operator SFR for $11 billion.
The deal calls for Vodafone to sell its 44% stake in SFR to Vivendi for cash and a small dividend. Vodafone added that it will enter into an agreement with SFR as part of the deal to maintain their commercial cooperation.
Vodafone said it plans to return approximately $6.8 billion of the proceeds to its shareholders as part of a share buy-back with the remainder of the proceeds going to reduce debt.
“Our board remains committed to realizing maximum value from our non-controlled assets,” noted Vodafone CEO Vittorio Colao in a statement. “The sale of our stake in SFR, at an attractive multiple, represents a significant further step in the execution of this strategy. In addition, we have secured a valuable partnership agreement in France which will allow us to continue to deliver compelling cross-border services to both consumer and enterprise customers across the major markets of Western Europe.”
Vodafone continues to maintain a similar stake in U.S. operator Verizon Wireless, a stake that majority owner, Verizon Communications Inc., has repeatedly said it would be interested in acquiring. Vodafone currently in one of the world’s largest mobile operators with approximately 359 million customers in its controlled and jointly controlled markets across 30 countries
Last week Vodafone said it would pay $5 billion to acquire the remaining stake in Indian operator Vodafone Essar Ltd. Vodafone Essar is India’s third-largest wireless operator with 118 million customers, or roughly 16.7% market share, at the end of 2010. India’s total mobile penetration rate stood at just under 60% at the end of last year.
Last year Vodafone sold its 3.2% stake in China Mobile Ltd. – currently the world’s largest wireless operator – for $6.7 billion