Vodafone Group is looking to increase its 74% stake in Vodafone India to take full control of the operator, according to an Indian newswire.
The report comes a few weeks after the Indian government agreed to remove the 74% cap on foreign investments in…
Vodafone Group is looking to increase its 74% stake in Vodafone India to take full control of the operator, according to an Indian newswire.
The report comes a few weeks after the Indian government agreed to remove the 74% cap on foreign investments in local telcos in order to help bolster their balance sheets.
Vodafone is set to be newly capitalised – after agreeing to exit Verizon Wireless for US$130bn – and the Press Trust of India cites a source familiar with the situation saying that the company has already started working on gaining 100% of its Indian subsidiary.
The British telco is eyeing up Piramal Healthcare’s 11% stake and Analjit Singh’s 6% holdings, among others, the report said.
Vodafone did not reply to a request for comment before the press deadline.
Earlier this month Vodafone India’s CEO, Marten Pieters, was quoted as saying that his operator was a “natural consolidator in the market”.
However Pieters noted that M&A would not happen until the regulatory environment in the country improved.
Vodafone India is the second largest operator in the country by subscribers behind Bharti Airtel. It also faces competition mainly from Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular.
With 12 players, the market looks ripe for consolidation. But regulatory uncertainties and issues in the aftermath of the 2G scam have delayed potential deals and deterred investors.
