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The company will be valued at £177m

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The company will be valued at £177m.Video Networks has a star-studded share register boasting the names of Lord Owen, the former cabinet minister, and LVMH's Bernard Arnault.. Vodafone AirTouch, Europe's largest company, is threatening to abandon Britain and move its headquarters to Dublin in a direct snub to the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. Vodafone AirTouch, Europe's largest company, is threatening to abandon Britain and move its headquarters to Dublin in a direct snub to the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. The group is expected tomorrow to unveil its £30bn sale of the mobile phone network, Orange, to France Telecom and will follow that up on Tuesday with full-year figures showing profits soaring to top £1.8bn.But more dramatic news is in store when Chris Gent, the chief executive, launches a scathing attack on the Chancellor and his taxation policies.Mr Gent, a lifelong Conservative, is particularly angry about the clampdown, announced in March's Budget, on so called "mixers", companies set up by multinationals such as Vodafone to try and keep tax costs down.The Budget tax change is estimated by leading accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young to be likely to cost leading British companies more than £4bn.Vodafone, which earlier this year completed the £80bn purchase of Germany's Mannesmann, is possibly the biggest loser from the tax change. Its annual bill could rise by hundreds of millions.By moving to Dublin, Vodafone will not only save on corporation tax but could get other incentives from the Irish government, as well as avoid the much criticised National Insurance payments on staff share options.Senior directors at Vodafone have been discussing the implications of a change of domicile with advisers and lobby groups.

In investment terms, it would have little effect on Vodafone, as Irish stocks are listed on the London Stock Exchange and Vodafone would stay in the FT-SE 100 index.In employment terms, the move would have some impact on Reading, the Berkshire town where Vodafone has its headquarters. However, the corporate offices of Vodafone are relatively small and the management of the group's UK operations, one of the largest parts of the group, would remain in Reading.A final decision has yet to be taken. But if Vodafone were to relocate to Dublin it could prompt other companies to follow suit. BP Amoco, WPP, and Nycomed Amersham, are among the companies heavily hit by the double taxation that arrived in the Budget.Vodafone is trying to find ways of avoiding having to pay tax on the profits it will make from the sale of Orange. The business was purchased for £19bn by Mannesmann before the German company became the target of a hostile bid by Vodafone.When Vodafone triumphed, the European Commission ordered that it sell Orange, the UK's third largest mobile phone network.France Telecom, which is linked with cable TV group NTL, has been in exclusive talks for the past few days after piping Dutch giant, KPN, to the deal.

The price is expected to be in the region of £28bn, though some of this may be in the form of shares, which could help Vodafone with its tax bill.Last week Vodafone was forced to call off its proposed flotation of the Australian operation, Vodafone Pacific, because of the soft nature of the world equity markets It hopes to revive the float this autumn.. Sir Peter Davis, new chief executive of J Sainsbury, is looking to sell its DIY arm, Homebase. Favourite to buy is rival Wickes, which at the moment is fighting off a hostile bid from Focus Do It All. That bid will be concluded at the end of this week, with Wickes expected narrowly to survive.

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