Vodafone's board has comfortably defeated a rebel shareholder, which has been calling for the UK telecommunications group to spin off its minority stake in Verizon Wireless, a leading US mobile operator.

At Vodafone's annual meeting in London yesterday, investors holding more than 93 per cent of the group's shares rejected aresolution to spin off Verizon Wireless tabled by Efficient Capital Structures, the rebel shareholder.