U.K.-based Vodafone this weekend announced that its $11.1 billion bid for a controlling interest in India's Hutchison Essar had won out over three competing bids. Vodafone is purchasing Hutchison Telecommunications' 67% stake in Hutchison Essar--the remaining 33% will still be owned by India-based Essar, which also had submitted a bid to acquire the rest of the firm.

Hutchison Essar is only India's fourth-largest mobile phone firm, but with more than 1.1 billion people and still barely 150 million mobile users, India has the potential to be the most active growth market in the world in the next few years. Significantly, the stake will give Vodafone a foothold in that market while growth opportunities in its native European markets are slowing.