Last checked at 
LONDON, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Vodafone boss Nick Read
said on Wednesday he was in talks with "multiple parties in
multiple markets" to pursue deals because he believed that
in-market consolidation could drive greater shareholder value.
He listed Spain, Italy, UK and Portugal as markets that
would benefit from consolidation to reduce the number of
operators.
Read, talking to reporters following a trading update and
the news that activist investor Cevian Capital had taken a stake
in the firm, said he believed that policy makers understood the
importance of consolidation, a move that could enable operators
to lower costs and invest more in their networks.
He said he needed other parties to be pragmatic and
realistic on valuations, and said for the spun-out towers
business a combination with Deutsche Telekom would be
ideal.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Kate Holton)
