Vodafone Bows out of Japan?

Vodafone, the beleaguered mobile giant, bowed to investor pressure last night, announcing the sale of its failing Japanese division for up to 8 billion British pounds. The proposed sale of the Vodafone KK business to SoftBank, the Japanese internet giant, sent shares in Vodafone surging, adding 5.6 billion to its stock market value. The move to sell the business, which accounts for 20 per cent of Vodafone’s revenues, was also hailed as a landmark move marking the end of the group’s empire-building strategy. A successful sale would mark the first major sell-off by the group in its history.

No offense to the Timesonline, however we’d prefer to wait for Reuters Japan (who first announced a deal was in the works) to provide a ‘confirmed sale’ update — Eds

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