LONDON, Aug 29: Vodafone is in talks on a possible sale of its stake in US joint-venture Verizon Wireless said to be worth more than $100 billion, the British mobile phone giant said Thursday.

While Vodafone stressed that any deal to sell its 45-percent stake to US telecommunications group Verizon may well not be concluded, investors rushed to buy the company’s shares.

A deal would help Vodafone, which is looking to bounce back from hefty losses, to pay down its debt, allow it to consider making further acquisitions and to return money to shareholders, analysts said.

“Vodafone notes the recent press speculation and confirms that it is in discussions with Verizon Communications Inc. regarding the possible disposal of Vodafone’s US group whose principal asset is its 45pc interest in Verizon Wireless,” the company said in a statement.

“There is no certainty that an agreement will be reached,” Vodafone added in a short release to the London Stock Exchange.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported on Wednesday that Verizon and Vodafone had resumed talks over a deal that could cost Verizon in excess of $100bn (75bn euros).

Verizon has been looking to pay about $100bn for the stake, while Vodafone is seeking around $130bn, the Journal added.

However, the two companies have yet to agree on an exact price.

Investors applauded Thursday’s news, sending Vodafone’s share price surging 8.27pc to close at 32.70 pence, topping London’s FTSE 100 index of top blue-chip firms. The overall index finished 0.82pc higher at 6,483.05 points.

“A disposal around $130bn is a transformational fortune changing deal which is likely to see Vodafone become the new darling of the telecom sector,” said Joe Rundle, head of trading at ETX Capital.

In May, Vodafone reported a 90pc plunge in annual net profit after taking a vast impairment charge relating to poor business in debt-laden eurozone nations Italy and Spain.—AFP