By Graham Hayday, 2 September 2002 10:00
NEWS Vodafone is rumoured to be interested in taking complete control of French mobile firm SFR by buying out Vivendi Universal's stake in the company. The deal could be worth as much as £8bn. The bid may be a hostile one, according to a report in today's FT. Vivendi's advisors have said that the French firm is not interested in selling SFR. Vodafone currently owns 32 per cent of SFR. The UK-based mobile operator is believed to want to increase this by bidding for Vivendi's stake in Cegetel, which controls SFR. Vodafone is said to be attracted to SFR because France remains the only major European country where it does not have a controlling stake in its mobile operations. Vodafone completed its purchase of Vivendi's share in the two companies' joint portal venture, Vizzavi, last week.
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