The Vodafone Group will later this year hold talks whether to sell half of its 45 per cent holding in US-based mobile operator Verizon Wireless, the Financial Times reported. It responded to a media report in the Independent on Sunday which said Vodafone plans to sell its Verizon Wireless stake, worth $20 billion (EUR 19.3 billion), so it can fund a bid for complete control of a rival U.S. mobile operator. The Group now denies it has already active plans to do so. The company said: "There is no current intention of exercising the put option. We are working very well with Verizon." The Independent cited U.S. sources as saying Vodafone had shown an interest in two mobile operators: Voicestream, which is part of Deutsche Telekom, and AT&T Wireless Services, whose largest shareholder is Japanese operator NTT DoCoMo.
