Japan's DoCoMo is reportedly the front runner in a bid to buy 26 per cent of India’s sixth largest mobile operator, Tata Teleservices (TTLS).
The deal, worth US$2.5 billion, would value Tata Teleservices and its 29 million subscriber base at US$9.61 billion, or roughly $331 per subscriber, according to the livemint website.
Other foreign players who had previously expressed an interest in TTLS include France Telecom, UAE’s Etisalat, Mexican operator, TelCel and Russia’s Altimo.
TTLS operates a pan-India CDMA network and was recently granted a pan-India GSM license by the regulator. TTLS is the smallest of the country’s major operators, behind Bharti, Reliance, Vodafone Essar, BSNL and Idea. It posted a fiscal year loss of US$1.87 billion for the period ended March 2008, including US$1.5 billion in losses carried forward from 2007.
According to the latest report, TTLS will sell 20 per cent in shares to DoCoMo while the remaining six per cent cited in the deal will be sold to the Japanese operator by other Tata Group affiliates who own shares in the mobile operator firm. (Telcomtv)