Vodafone in £3bn Japanese fixed line sell-off

NEWS Vodafone is expected to sell Japan Telecom's fixed line business for up to £3bn before the end of the year. A deal is not expected immediately because of poor market conditions, and also because Vodafone is said to want to improve the business before it is sold on. But Cable&Wireless could be the potential buyer, according to sources quoted by Japan Today. If Vodafone does sell the fixed line business it would be consistent with its strategy to focus soley on mobile operations. In a similar move, the company sold Italian fixed line business, Infostrada, to Rome based utility Enel. Vodafone gained control of Japan Telecom last week when it paid £1.8bn to increase its stake in the Japanese telco from 45 per cent to 67 per cent, giving it the two thirds majority required to make managerial decisions. Vodafone will look to boost J-Phone; the mobile division of Japan Telecom to try and grab some market share from NTT DoCoMo. For related news, see
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