The Hong Kong conglomerate held large stakes in the European carriers as a result of a flurry of dealings in mobile phone companies that saw Vodafone buy its shares in Mannesmann, and Deutsche Telekom acquire its holding in VoiceStream Wireless.
Hutchison needs the cash to reassure investors that it will not have to raise more money. It faces a huge drain on its resources because of the cost of rolling out its own long-delayed 3G services in Italy and the UK that have so far met a less than enthusiastic response from users due to technical limitations.
Source: Computerwire
