Telecom deal to deepen Asia alliance

Spain's Telefonica and No.2 Chinese mobile operator China Unicom will deepen their strategic alliance by buying an additional $500 million stake in each other, the Spanish company said Sunday.
The two companies are exploring joint investments in parts of Asia and Africa where they are not already present.
After the purchase, Telefonica's stake in China Unicom will rise to 9.7 percent, while China Unicom's ownership will reach a total of 1.37 percent, Telefonica said in a statement.
China Unicom, which will purchase 21.8 million shares of Telefonica for 17.16 euros per share, will get a seat on Telefonica's board. Telefonica will buy $500 million worth of China Unicom shares from third parties over a nine-month period.