Business Standard is reporting that the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved Idea Cellular’s subsidiary Aditya Birla Telecom’s (ABTL’s) proposal to sell a 20% stake to P5 Asia Holdings Investments (Mauritius), a member of private equity firm Providence Equity Partners. The purchase will cost INR27.04 billion (USD545 million), and will bring the total foreign direct investment (FDI) in the company to 74%. The CCEA has also approved plans that will see Idea transfer its 16% stake in Indus Towers to ABTL; Indus is a joint venture mobile tower company with Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Essar which owns 70,000 base transceiver stations.
ABTL is expected to use the funds raised from the sale for expansion and roll out of its network. The operator holds a licence to offer mobile services in the Bihar circle, but has yet to announce a timeframe for commercial launch.
Source: TeleGeography