Telefonica has bought another 2.22% stake in China Netcom (Hong Kong) Ltd., taking its holding to 7.2%.
The fresh stake was acquired from four state shareholders - the Chinese Academy of Sciences Holdings Co., SARFT's Information and Network Center, China Railways Telecommunications Center and Shanghai Alliance Investment Ltd.
The four owners sold 148 million shares to Telefonica for $452 million, China Netcom said in a statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange.
Telefonica first acquired a stake in China Netcom in 2005 and has said it will lift this to 10%.