The Vodafone Group, the world’s leading mobile operator by revenue, has bought a 10 per cent equity stake in Bharti Tele Ventures Limited for $1.5 billion. This includes the entire 5.65 per cent stake of New York-based private equity firm Warburg Pincus. The other 4.4 per cent will be held through a Vodafone purchase of part of Bharti Enterprises Private Limited. The deal represents a return to the fast-growing Indian market for Vodafone, which owns networks in 27 countries and has partners in another 14, after it sold a minority stake in a regional Indian company two years ago.
