Vodafone divests China Mobile stake for $6.5bln

Sold 642.9 million shares for HK$79.20 after its value doubled and deemed minority holdings insignificant.

Vodafone Group Plc sold a stake in China Mobile Ltd. for HK$50.9 billion in the biggest divestment since Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Colao took charge in 2008.

Newbury, England-based Vodafone sold about 642.9 million shares for HK$79.20 apiece in a sale that began on Tuesday and was completed on Wednesday, according to a term sheet for the sale obtained by Bloomberg News. China Mobile fell the most in more than a year in Hong Kong trading.

Vodafone, which acquired its 3.2 percent stake in China Mobile in two transactions between 2000 and 2002 for $3.25 billion, doubled the value of that investment and has said it doesn’t consider its minority holdings essential.

Shareholders have been pushing management to squeeze more out of Vodafone’s holdings, which still include 45 percent of Verizon Wireless and 44 percent of Paris-based SFR, which are majority owned by Verizon Communications Inc. and Vivendi SA, respectively.

View the full story in Bloomberg.