UK-based New Call Telecom plans to spend US$300m to acquire three or four companies in India over the next six to 12 months, as part of its OTT strategy in the country.
CEO Nigel Eastwood confirmed to TelecomFinance that New Call is in talks with eight…
UK-based New Call Telecom plans to spend US$300m to acquire three or four companies in India over the next six to 12 months, as part of its OTT strategy in the country.
CEO Nigel Eastwood confirmed to TelecomFinance that New Call is in talks with eight or nine companies. The London-based operator intends to buy three or four of these, with two deal announcements expected shortly, he said.
Eastwood said New Call plans to grow inorganically in India by acquiring complementary digital and telecoms companies and services.
“We are pursuing a ‘platformatisation’ strategy, creating a platform of interconnected digital services and products, which promises to increase customer engagement and loyalty.”
He added that the company wants to acquire OTT service providers with the potential to expand rapidly.
“We aim to disrupt the content, big data, FinTech and e-commerce sectors, and introduce a raft of future-focused services that meet the rapidly changing demands of customers in India,” he said.
Eastwood confirmed that the company has hired advisers to assist it with the acquisitions, but declined to name them.
In August 2014, New Call announced that it planned to invest US$100m in India over the next 18 months, targeting mid-level telcos providing innovative services in the broadband space.
That October, the company acquired a 70% stake in Indian mobile messaging and VoIP calling app Nimbizz for about US$175m. New Call has also agreed to acquire Indian WiFi provider Ozone Networks – a deal still subject to the approval of the country’s Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
Talks with Indian ISP Nextra Teleservices reportedly failed over valuation issues.
Eastwood said the company is now planning larger investments in India as investors are now warming to its business plan. He declined to comment on how the upcoming acquisitions will be funded.
New Call is no longer actively seeking a fixed-line asset in the country as its strategic focus is on the OTT sector, he said.
New Call will consolidate its Indian operations in Guragaon, where it plans to hire 100 people over the next six to 12 months, he said.
Eastwood noted that the company aims to perfect its emerging-market growth and business strategy in India before looking elsewhere.
“Afterwards we plan to expand into other booming ‘India-like’ markets in the region, such as Myanmar, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and many others. We are already in the process of laying out firm plans to expand across the region.”
