Vodafone shares climbed to a 15-month high today after it beat competitors for a controlling stake in India's fourth-biggest mobile phone firm.
The $11.1 billion deal for Hutchison Essar, announced yesterday, gives Vodafone a powerful stake in the world's fastest-growing mobile phone market - which will help offset slowing growth in its core European operations.
Vodafone shares were up 2.5 per cent at 153 pence, the biggest rise on the UK's benchmark Ftse-100 index
Vodafone said the deal, the company's third-biggest ever, meant about a third of its profits would come from emerging markets by 2012, compared with less than 20 per cent at the moment.
