Vodafone could sell stake in Verizon

MOBILE phone group Vodafone could sell its stake in its joint venture with Verizon Communications for about $48 billion before the end of the month, according to the Observer newspaper.

The deal for Vodafone's 45% stake in US-based Verizon Wireless would total $56 billion, including debt, the newspaper said.

Last Tuesday, the Daily Telegraph newspaper claimed that Verizon valued the stake at $38 billion, $12 billion below Vodafone's valuation.