Vodafone sells half its stake in Infostrada

NEWS Vodafone Airtouch is planning to sell half its Italian fixed-line and wireless telcoms operator, Infostrada, for between £2.4bn and £3.5bn. Money raised from the sale could help finance Vodafone's plans to buy and build third generation mobile networks around the world, which is expected to cost between £32bn and £58bn. A spokesman for Vodafone Airtouch told silicon.com: "We are selling our stake to raise further currency for expansions as well as to pay off our existing debts." Infostrada, which Vodafone Airtouch acquired through its £113bn takeover of Mannesmann, was founded in 1995 by Olivetti to compete with Italian incumbent Telecom Italia.