Paulson & Co was reported to have increased its holding in Vodafone Group Plc. The John Paulson-run hedge fund which manages USD18 billion of assets acquired 17 million of American depositary receipts of Vodafone last quarter. Adding that to the hedge fund's initial 3 million American depositary receipts of the phone company, Paulson's interest was valued at USD703.6 million as of the end of September, according to the hedge fund's filing yesterday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Paulson & Co also revealed that it had raised its ownership stake in T-Mobile US Inc. to USD504.7 million by purchasing 2.76 million shares.

The latest interest purchase of Paulson & Co in Vodafone came in the middle of preparations by executives of AT&T Inc for a potential takeover of the phone company in 2014. AT&T Inc reportedly mapped out a strategy to set a complex deal with the largest mobile carrier in Europe, sources familiar with the process said in November.

Paulson gained this year after companies MetroPCS and Sprint Corp were taken over. The hedge fund predicted a consolidation of the industry both MetroPCS and Sprint Corp where in. Last month, Paulson also said Vodafone would most likely be a candidate for a takeover.

In a third-quarter report to investors, Paulson wrote, "We believe a stand-alone Vodafone could be an attractive potential acquisition target and offers the opportunity for further upside through a simple rerating or takeover premium."

Although US-based AT&T and UK's Vodafone have yet to enter into formal negotiations, AT&T had been researching on which of the assets of Vodafone would be retained should the deal push through and which investors would be interested in Vodafone assets should At&T decide to sell it.

Paulson became a shareholder also in T-Mobile US when the mobile phone company consolidated with one of the hedge fund's acquisitions, MetroPCS in May. The transaction had given Paulson 2.3% interest of T-MObile. Paulson increased his stake to 2.75 at the end of the third quarter of this year. In July, Paulson said the company would be a target for a takeover by Sprint Corp or Dish Network Corp.

Paulson & Co. with WalekPeppercomm Armel Leslie refused to comment on Paulson's filing.