[Motel75]

Yes, Vodafone have done really badly under Arun Sarin. There are a number of reasons for this, but Vodafone used to have a huge psychological edge (everyone knew they were BIG, had no debts, and were about to take over Verizon, Vivendi, BT, and who knows what else), and had they bought AT&T Wireless this might have continued; however since then a lot of investment funds have whined about wanting cash handouts, forcing them to sell off Japan (which took years to take control of) at a loss, and its (admittedly money-losing) Swedish division to a major competitor. Next up is its share in Verizon Wireless; if it sells this and throws the proceeds away in a special dividend, it will indeed become prey, either for Verizon or AT&T as a ready-made Rest of World division, or to state-backed TMO, Telefonica, or Orange, just to get rid of their main competitor (to see what that would mean, take a look at France's cozy, noncompetitive market). A sad story, indeed, and a warning sign of what happens if you pay too much heed to accountants.