Vodafone Group is close to agreeing a USD15.6 billion deal to sell its ailing Japanese business Vodafone KK to Softbank Corp of Japan, snubbing a last minute rival bid from US fund Cerberus and Providence Equity Partners. The US investors teamed up to present an all-cash offer yesterday, but according to the Financial Times Vodafone has decided to press ahead with its more advanced negotiations with Softbank.