UPDATE 1-Anite sells travel reservation business for 45 mln stg

(Adds analyst comments, details about deal, share movement)

By Noor Zainab Hussain

May 29 (Reuters) - Anite Plc, which tests handsetand telecom networks, said it had sold its travel reservationsoftware business to the private equity arm of Lloyds BankingGroup Plc to focus on its wireless business.

Anite, whose clients include Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Vodafone Group Plc, sold its traveldivision to LDC for 45 million pounds ($75 million) in cash.

Anite's shares rose as much as 6.5 percent on the LondonStock Exchange on Thursday afternoon.

The company said the deal was debt free and 1.7 millionpounds of the amount would be held in escrow subject to theresolution of certain commercial considerations.

The business accounted for about 15 percent of Anite's totalrevenue of 132.5 million pounds in 2013.

" ... It is a good valuation and largely as expected, butmore than that it allows them to concentrate on growthopportunities in the mobile space," finnCap analyst Lorne Danieltold Reuters.

The multi-billion-dollar rollout of long-term evolution(LTE) 4G networks in China has helped boost revenues fortelecoms testing companies, such as Spirent Communications Plc.

For full-year 2015, Anite's estimated profit on disposalwill be about 30 million pounds, subject to the release of the1.7 million pounds held in escrow and working capitaladjustments, the company said.

Fleet, Hampshire-based Anite said it would use the proceedsfrom the sale to pay down its existing debt and invest furtherin its wireless business.

Anite's shares were trading up 2 percent at 94.75 pence at1452 GMT.

($1 = 0.5986 British Pounds) (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bangalore; Editing bySavio D'Souza and Simon Jennings)