Vodafone empire grows, eBay cuts and BT shake-up imminent

According to a report in the Financial Times, the UK-based operator will pay $2.54bn to secure the deal. Before the agreement is completed - a process expected to take until next March - Swisscom will turn its subsidiary into a separate company.

Swisscom also owns a 74 per cent stake in Debitel, and as part of the deal, it will get access to Germany's 3G networks through Vodafone's Mannesmann Mobilfunk subsidiary.

The Swiss government still has to ratify the deal, although that is expected to be a formality that will be completed at a meeting next Wednesday...

Staying with the Financial Times, online auction house eBay has reportedly joined the growing ranks of dot-coms laying off staff.

Fifteen per cent of the workforce at eBay's Butterfield division face redundancy, 19 months after the 135-year old art auctioneer was bought by the upstart for $260m.

eBay claims to have been successful in moving Butterfield's bricks-and-mortar business online, but the FT claims it has admitted to letting the firm's regular business wither as a result...

Returning to the ever-changing telecoms world, The Independent claims troubled BT is poised for an imminent revamp.

The rumour surfaced when chairman Sir Iain Vallance made a sharp exit from the Confederation of British Industry conference in Birmingham yesterday. The newspaper reports that he left to attend a board meeting in London despite being expected to see the conference out.

BT is scheduled to present its interim results tomorrow, and details of a restructuring are hotly anticipated. The firm has come under severe pressure from the City to revamp the business following its rapid slide from favour in recent months.

The restructuring is expected to bring about a far more devolved approach within the business, with the sale of minority interests outside Europe and Japan, as well as flotation of its business units. The cash raised will go towards reducing the firm's £30bn debt, as well as bringing in capital to cover alliances in the crucial 3G wireless sector.