Vodafone has completed the eight billion euro (£6.6 billion) sale of its Italian business to Switzerland’s Swisscom as a flurry of deals are sewn up for the start of the new year.
The mobile phone giant – which last month saw its £15 billion tie-up with Three UK cleared by Britain’s competition regulator – plans to use the cash to pay down its debt pile and complete a further two billion euro (£1.7 billion) share buyback to boost returns for investors once its current programme has ended.
