Vodafone plans to sell stake of its Indian Arm

Published: Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 12:47 [IST]

After acquiring the stake of Essar Group, British telecom operator Vodafone is in now hunting for new partners to sell stake of its Indian arm. It is in talks with at least two unnamed private equity players about the issue, Economic Times reported.

Vodafone recently acquired remaining 33% stake of India's Essar Group for $5.46 billion. It is still due to pay $1.26 billion to Essar, which has a deadline of February 15, 2012. After ending this transaction, Vodafone will cross the limit on foreign holding in a telecom company by 1%.

Foreign Direct Investment in India in telecom sector is allowed up to 74%, so Vodafone is planning to sell a stake in its Indian operations.

The company may offload 1 percent to existing Indian investors and then sell a larger stake to an overseas financial investor, an unnamed group official told the paper.

Vodafone's has already invested around $18 billion in India.

The company is also in talks of listing its shares on stock exchange.

Recently, CEO and MD of the company, Marten Pieters had an interview to a news channel, where he mentioned about its listing. "We will look at an initial public offer in India soon," he said.

Among the top mobile operators in India, Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Idea Cellular are already listed except Vodafone who has not gone for any listing so far.

OneIndia Money

Story first published: Wednesday, July 20, 2011, 12:47 [IST]

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