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Vodafone sells its stake in Bharti Infotel for $200 million

A man speaks on his mobile phone as he walks past logos of Vodafone painted on a roadside wall in Kolkata May 20, 2014. REUTERS/Rupak De Chowdhuri

(Reuters) - Vodafone Group PLC said on Thursday it sold its stake in Indian telecom infrastructure firm Bharti Infotel to its holding company Bharti Enterprises for $200 million (131 million pounds).

The stake represents about a 4.2 percent interest in the Indian mobile carrier Bharti Airtel, which is also a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises.

The sale results from a directive by India's Department of Telecoms, which restricts any group from holding an interest in more than one licensee company in the same service area.

(Reporting by Ankush Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Paul Simao)