Indian Reliance Communications (RCom) is in exclusive talks with a PE consortium about the sale of a stake in its enterprise business unit, Reliance Globalcom.
Meanwhile discussions with Bahrain’s Batelco have fallen apart. Both companies confirmed…
Indian Reliance Communications (RCom) is in exclusive talks with a PE consortium about the sale of a stake in its enterprise business unit, Reliance Globalcom.
Meanwhile discussions with Bahrain’s Batelco have fallen apart. Both companies confirmed that talks have failed, without giving further details.
However, RCom said that a consortium of private equity funds led by investment firm Samena Capital is “at an advanced stage of the process of due diligence and completion of definitive documents” for the acquisition of Globalcom.
The parties expect to agree on a deal by late May 2013, RCom said, although adding that there was no certainty the talks will lead to a transaction.
In early April, rumours emerged that RCom was looking to sell an 80% stake in Globalcom to Batelco for Rs60bn (US$1.1bn). The potential deal was seen as the latest attempt by billionaire Anil Ambani, owner of RCom, to reduce the telco’s Rs370bn (US$6.8bn) debt load.
More recently, on 19 April, local newspapers wrote that PE firms Providence and Carlyle, as well as the sovereign wealth funds of Singapore and Dubai were considering forming a consortium to back Batelco’s bid for Globalcom.
Samena Capital has reportedly been tasked with putting the consortium together and could also take a small stake in Globalcom.
