Indian operator Reliance Communications has mandated Standard Chartered and DBS Group to joint Deutsche Bank as advisers on the IPO of its cable unit, according to a Reuters report.
About a month ago, it was suggested that RCom was seeking…
Indian operator Reliance Communications has mandated Standard Chartered and DBS Group to joint Deutsche Bank as advisers on the IPO of its cable unit, according to a Reuters report.
About a month ago, it was suggested that RCom was seeking approximately US$1.5bn from the listing of its cable unit Flag on the Singapore Exchange.
This would allow the company to cut its debt load, which currently stands at about US$7bn.
But according to Reuters citing sources close to the matter, US$1bn is a more realistic target in the IPO, which would likely be in the form of a business trust.
At the end of last year, Hong Kong-based conglomerate PCCW listed its mobile unit as a business trust on the local stock exchange.
This was the first time that Hong Kong allowed the listing of a business trust, which combines elements of a company with those of a unit trust, and is operated through a trustee manager. Investors in such a trust hold units rather than shares.
RCom has been struggling with mounting liabilities in recent months.
But according to the Business Standard, private equity firms Blackstone and Carlyle recently signed a term sheet to buy a 95% stake in RCom’s tower unit Infratel, which would allow it to reduce its debt burden.
Recently, it was also announced that the mobile operator had secured US$1.18bn worth of loans to refinance its outstanding foreign currency convertible bonds (FCCBs) due for redemption on 1 March 2012.
RCom was unavailable for comment before the press deadline.
