New Delhi - British telecoms giant Vodafone, has pipped
three other companies to emerge as the top bidder for a majority
stake in India's fourth largest mobile services provider Hutchison
Essar, Indian media reported Sunday.
Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd.
(HTIL) on Friday received four bids, for its 67 per cent stake in
Hutchison Essar Ltd., which holds 16 percent of the Indian cellular
market.
HTIL at its board meeting on Sunday took a final decision on the
takeover bids and Vodafone which had submitted the highest bids
estimated at 19 billion dollars was the front-runner, the
NDTV network reported quoting sources.
Officials of HTIL were not available to confirm the details.
India's Reliance Communications, the Hinduja Group which teamed
with Qatar Telecom and Russia's Altimo and Indian conglomerate Essar,
had submitted bids starting from 16 billion dollars.
The news channel reported that Essar which holds 33 per cent in
the company, had said that it was willing to partner Vodafone,
NDTV reported.
The IANS news agency reported that the HTIL would have to inform
the stock markets before publicly announcing the decision.
Vodafone is keen for a stronger presence in India and is most
likely to partner Essar, local news channels reported.
Though the bids have been submitted by the interested parties, a
final decision on the deal, the largest-ever in India, could still be
weeks away.
Hutchison Essar has a subscriber base of 23.3 million users and is
considered a lucrative asset in India, one of the world's fastest
growing markets for mobile telephony.
Following sweeping reforms by successive governments and the
introduction of new technology, the total subscriber base jumped from
10 million in 2002 to 143.02 million by the end of November 2006.
The Indian government expects the number of users to touch 500
million by 2010.
© 2007 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur 
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