Mobile operator Vodafone today said it had made an offer to buy Germany's biggest cable company Kabel Deutschland, confirming a media report overnight.

Vodafone has been pursuing a possible €10 billion bid for the German cable operator since earlier this year, and hired Goldman Sachs to advise on options in February.

It would be Vodafone’s biggest deal since it entered India in 2007 and mark a change in strategy for the group that has long has owned largely mobile operations in continental Europe and relied on renting broadband lines from competitors.

Shares in Vodafone, which went ex-dividend today, extended declines, and were trading down 5.7 per cent at 180.95 pence at 07.18 GMT. Kabel Deutschland shares rose 8.1 per cent.

Reuters