UK mobile major Vodafone has agreed to sell 25 per cent stake in Proximus, the Belgian mobile phone company, to its co-owner Belgacom for $2.6 billion. Vodafone’s minority stake in Proximus was too small to generate significant earnings. Also, the company had little hope of ever getting control of Proximus. It now expects to record a $849 million gain on the sale, which will be useful in servicing its debt. The company is also planning to dispose of its 25 per cent stake in Swisscom Mobile, valued at about ??1.7 billion, by end-2006.
