LONDON: Vodafone shares turned higher late on Tuesday, with traders citing a Nikkei report suggesting the British mobile operator may become a takeover target for Japanese telecoms firm SoftBank.

A Vodafone spokesman said the company had no comment to make on the report. Vodafone shares closed up by 1.1 percent at 208.90 pence, having traded as low as 205.50 pence earlier on Tuesday.