Vodafone buy would see Softbank give up its mobile license.

"Vodafone said last week it was in talks with Softbank with a view to selling off its beleaguered Japanese unit... it was widely expected that Softbank would use a newer technology that promised higher data speeds and better economics than Vodafone's WCDMA network, while buying the existing operator would cost about twice as much as building a new network from scratch. Clearly Softbank sees untapped potential in Vodafone, something that current managment seems unable to unlock."