US giant AT&T has applied to India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to boost its stake in AT&T Global Networks Services India.
At present, the telco owns 74% of the subsidiary. But since a change in regulation last September, foreign…
US giant AT&T has applied to India’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to boost its stake in AT&T Global Networks Services India.
At present, the telco owns 74% of the subsidiary. But since a change in regulation last September, foreign companies are now allowed to have full control of their Indian operations.
Vodafone has already bought out mobile operator Vodafone India, Sistema is in the process of increasing its stake in MTS India, while Telenor has been considering holding more than 74% of Uninor.
AT&T is hoping to raise its holding from 74% to 98.67%, rather than to 100%, in the near term by buying out most of its local partner Mahindra Telecom’s stake, it is understood.
This is because AT&T can only buy back 25% of Mahindra’s equity shares in a financial year as per local regulations.
Local reports suggest it could then buy the remaining 1.33% at a later stage. However, India’s telecoms ministry may be opposed to AT&T owning 100% of its local arm because of an alleged lack of clarity on the second part process, according to local reports.
