Vodafone Group, the world’s biggest mobile phone company, has agreed to buy a 10% stake in Indian firm Bharti Tele-Ventures for $1.5bn (£841m). Arun Sarin, the British firm’s India-born chief executive says; “This transaction is consistent with Vodafone’s strategy of developing our global footprint in growth markets”





Vodafone was looking to expand in Asia, France and Poland, and other growth markets last month. India has more than 66 million mobile customers and the market is expanding by 2.5 million users a month. Bharti had more than 14 million mobile phone users at the end of September.



On Thursday, Bharti reported a weaker-than-expected 43% rise in quarterly profits, news that hammered its shares. However, analysts said that despite the disappointment, the prospects for growth were good.



Via BBC