Vodafone has confirmed it will increase its investment in the parent company of Vouchercloud, while it has also started talks to acquire New Zealand-based TelstraClear.

The operator has announced that it plans to increase its shareholding in Invitation Digital Limited (IDL), the company that created Vouchercloud, to 57 percent.

Vouchercloud, which launched in Ireland on Wednesday, is a service which provides coupons to consumers through their mobile phones.

In May last year, Vodafone took a 21 percent stake in IDL and holds the first option to build upon its direct shareholding in the future.

The operator has made plans to launch Vouchercloud to the rest of the world in the coming months as part of its broader mobile commerce strategy.

Commenting on this development, Guillermo Escofet, senior analyst at Informa Telecoms and Media, said Vodafone's move reflects how central offers have become to operators' mobile advertising and marketing strategies.

"With rival UK operator O2 having built up a 10-million strong community of subscribers opted in to receive offers under the O2 More service, and rival carrier group Deutsche Telekom having struck a partnership with daily deals site Groupon in January, Vodafone doesn't want to be left behind," he said.

Meanwhile, the group revealed it has begun talks with Telstra to explore a possible acquisition of its New Zealand subsidiary TelstraClear.

Discussions are still taking place and there is no certainty as to whether a deal will be confirmed.

Vodafone said more details will be announced in due course.