Vodafone to sell French arm

Vodafone is said to be on the verge of selling its stake in French mobile phone company SFR in a move that will pave the way for a £5 billion share buyback.

The mobile phone giant is understood to be finalising a deal to sell its 44 per cent holding to French media group Vivendi, which owns the rest of the group, for 7bn, according to a Sunday newspaper report.

The group is also expected to announce that it has raised a further 800 million from the sale of its 24 per cent stake in Polish group Polkomtel. It is thought that some of the money will be returned to shareholders through a share buyback.