Chief Executive Arun Sarin hinted on Wednesday that the company might bid for US rival AT&T Wireless and was "watching the situation".

Mr Sarin also said that while nothing was imminent, "our interest is high" in expanding East European operations.

Vodafone has expanded aggressively and on Wednesday said its subscriber base had swollen to 130.4 million people.

One of the main drivers of growth was the purchase of Greek operator Panafon.

Buy to grow

Mr Sarin's comments did nothing to scotch rumours that the company's spending spree was set to continue.

Shares in Vodafone dropped 2.65% on Wednesday amid speculation that the company was talking to bankers about financing.

AT&T Wireless is valued at about $30bn (�16.5bn; 24bn euros). Other potential buyers include Japan's NTT DoCoMo and Cingular, owned by the US's SBC and BellSouth.

Vodafone already owns the 45% of Verizon Wireless, the biggest mobile phone company in North America.

Last year, the UK phone giant bought local company Singlepoint for �405m and Newark-based Project Telecom, among others.