Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has agreed to sell its 42.7% stake in Indian JV S Tel, only days after India’s Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of 122 2G licences that were illegally granted in 2008.
S Tel is among the eight…
Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco) has agreed to sell its 42.7% stake in Indian JV S Tel, only days after India’s Supreme Court ordered the cancellation of 122 2G licences that were illegally granted in 2008.
S Tel is among the eight companies directly affected by the ruling by losing 2G licences.
The sale “is a part of an earlier understanding with its Indian partner to exit, given the circumstances surrounding the 2G probe in India over the past twelve months,” Batelco stated.
The 42.7% stake will be sold to Batelco’s Indian partner Sky City Foundation for US$174.5m, the price paid by Batelco in 2009 when it bought the S Tel stake.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed by the end of October, marks the first foreign exit since the 2G scandal unravelled in India about 18 months ago.
S Tel is currently number 12 in the crowded Indian mobile market, which currently has 15 operators.
Most of the operators affected by licence cancellations have branded the Supreme
