Vodafone, the UK telecoms company, plans to reignite the flotation of Arcor, its fixed-line phone business in Germany, as soon as market conditions allow, sources close to the company say.

Vodafone, which holds a 70% stake in Arcor worth as much as €4bn ($3.7bn) last year, was forced to put its original float plans on hold at the end of 2000 because of the treacherous conditions in the new-issue market.