Vodafone in Arcor buyout

VODAFONE will this week underline its broadband ambitions by buying out minority shareholders in Arcor, the German landline operator it bought as part of its takeover of Mannesmann in 2000. The mobile giant will pay close to £400m for the 18% stake held by the German rail company Deutsche Bahn and the 8% held by Deutsche Bank.

Chief executive Arun Sarin is also involved in the auction of Tiscali’s operations in Britain and Italy and has bought a broadband operation in Spain.

HSBC’s Indian investment

HSBC has bought a 73% stake in an Indian stockbroker in a $260m (£132m) deal that gives the bank a new presence in one of the world’s fastest-growing economies. Mumbai-based IL&FS Investsmart is one of India’s biggest retail stockbrokers, with 138,000 customers in 133 cities.

HSBC bought 44% of the company from Etrade, the online stockbroker, which put its stake up for sale last month. The bank will now launch an offer for the rest of the shares.

Sandy Flockhart, chief executive of HSBC Asia Pacific, said: “The deal gives us a foothold in one of the world’s largest retail broking markets.”

BAA outsources its IT

BAA, the airports group, plans to outsource some of its IT departments as part of a cost-cutting drive. The company last week advertised for contractors interested in taking over the work – and employing some of BAA’s IT staff. A BAA source said the value of the work was likely to run into tens of millions of pounds.

BHP seeks deal clearance

BHP BILLITON is close to a formal application to the European Union for clearance of its planned takeover of rival miner Rio Tinto. Sources at BHP said there was a chance the filing could come this week, although it may be delayed until the end of the month. The proposed deal would create the world’s biggest mining group.

Sporting Index jobs shuffle

THE spread-betting company Sporting Index has shuffled its senior management after delivering record financial results. Chief executive Richard Glynn will become nonexecutive chairman, with Warren Murphy, now marketing director, succeeding him as chief executive.

The company’s performance has been fuelled by growth in its “wholesale” division, providing betting services to clients such as Party Gaming, the online-poker operator.

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