Vodafone Sells Stake in Belgian Mobile Operator

Vodafone today sold its 25% stake in the Belgian mobile operator Proximus for €2bn (£1.4bn), as the company focuses on its most profitable operations.

The world's biggest mobile phone company plans to use the proceeds from what it said was an attractively priced deal to reduce debt. Vodafone said it expects to record a gain of around £450m from the sale in its results for the current financial year. Belgacom, Belgium's dominant telecoms operator, is acquiring Vodafone's stake in Proximus.

Arun Sarin, the chief executive, said: "We have enjoyed a long and successful relationship with Belgacom, and together have built the leading mobile operator in Belgium. We do not, however, see ourselves as the most appropriate long-term holder of this minority stake."

Vodafone is struggling in key western European markets, with Mr Sarin coming under strong pressure to boost Vodafone's flagging share price.

The company sold its struggling Japanese business last year for £8.9bn, but it has resisted investor demands to sell its stake in the US business Verizon Wireless.

Last month, shareholders voiced their displeasure at Mr Sarin, with more than 15% of them refusing to back him at the company's annual meeting. It was the most significant shareholder rebellion in the mobile phone operator's 18-year history as a public company.

The next flashpoint for Mr Sarin could come in November. If the company's results fail to show the benefits of Vodafone's new "converged" broadband products in the maturing markets of western Europe, and evidence of growth in emerging markets, Mr Sarin will come under renewed pressure.