ITT Corp. sold its 24% stake in...

ITT Corp. sold its 24% stake in the British telecommunications company STC PLC for about $730 million to Canada’s Northern Telecom Ltd. Industry analysts had expected New York-based ITT to sell its STC stake as part of a major recasting of the huge conglomerate aimed at reducing its presence in telecommunications. In the past year, ITT has merged its telecommunications businesses into a joint venture with France’s Compagnie Generale d’Electricite and sold a telephone company in the Virgin Islands. The company has also begun a share buyback.