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| Vodafone pockets $6.5bn in China Mobile sale | Vodafone pockets $6.5bn in China Mobile sale |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| Vodafone has pocketed $6.5bn (£4.2bn) in cash following the sale of its 3.2% stake in China's biggest wireless operator, China Mobile. | Vodafone has pocketed $6.5bn (£4.2bn) in cash following the sale of its 3.2% stake in China's biggest wireless operator, China Mobile. |
| It is the biggest such sale by the UK-based phone company of its non-strategic investments. | |
| The buyers of the stake, of which there may be several, have not been identified. | The buyers of the stake, of which there may be several, have not been identified. |
| The 643m shares, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, were offered at a 3.4% discount to the market price. | The 643m shares, listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange, were offered at a 3.4% discount to the market price. |
| Continued co-operation | |
| The company says it intends to return some 70% of the net proceeds to shareholders by buying back shares. | |
| The rest of the proceeds will be used to reduce the group's net debt. | |
| Vodafone originally invested in China Mobile in 2000 and it says both companies will continue to cooperate in areas such as roaming, network roadmap development, multinational customers and green technology. | |
| "Today's transaction achieves a near doubling of Vodafone's original investment in China Mobile and combines our stated portfolio strategy with ongoing co-operation with China's leading telecommunications company," said Vodafone's chief executive, Vittorio Colao. |