Bharti, Vodafone, Idea May Merge Towers

[@ksh@T 20]

Mumbai, Oct 06: Indian mobile services firms Bharti Airtel Ltd, Vodafone Essar Ltd and Idea Cellular Ltd may merge their towers units to form a separate company, the Business Line paper said on Saturday.

The three companies together own more than 70,000 towers across the country, and apart from operational efficiencies, the merger is aimed at getting a higher valuation for their passive infrastructure, the paper said.

"The talks have been going on for some time ... the companies are yet to agree on the modalities of being joint venture partners in terms of the equity share (and) other operational issues," it cited a source close to the negotiations as saying.

The companies may hold equity in proportion to the number of towers they owned, with Bharti possibly taking a stake of 57 percent in the new company, the paper said.

The decision would be a "natural progression" of an earlier move to share infrastructure, the paper said, citing sources in the dominant GSM market who confirmed that initial discussions between the companies had begun.

A spokesman for Bharti and a spokeswoman for Idea did not immediately return calls. A spokeswoman for Vodafone Essar said she had no comment.

Telecoms operators in India, the world's fastest-growing mobile market, are looking to share infrastructure to keep costs down amid fierce competition and a surge in low-income subscribers from rural areas.

Leader Bharti Airtel and Idea had earlier said they would spin off their mobile towers arms into separate units. Reliance Communications Ltd, the No. 2 mobile services firm, recently sold 5 percent of its towers business for USD 345 million.

[Sadikk 301]

Trying to blow ADAG tower company. nothing else.

[kshah 452]

They are trying to cover inefficiencies of GSM by reducing cost of operation on other areas.

[Himanshu Singh 19]

Another attempt by GSM gangsters to manipulate market forces.They are already acting as a cartel as someone rightly said. This is one more step in that direction.Rcom can compete on its own against the combined might of all of them.I am eagerly waiting for RCOM to get the GSM licence in the remaining telecom circles and once it happens its curtains for all others.

And lastly I must advise Mittals, Birlas and Sarins of this world to merge their companies into one single entity.It would be better for the customers to be robbed by a single company rather than 3 of them separately.

WHAT SHOULD BE THE NAME OF THE COMPANY WHICH IS FORMED BY THEIR MERGER?

VODEATEL????

Any takers?

[@ksh@T 20]

@sachinrocks

VODEATEL is indeed a good name! please suggest this to sunil bharti mittal! he indeed may award u!

[hritik123 4]

reliance and tata should merge too --- RELITATA

[ashoksoft 83]

or Relita and Vodatel

[Honest 836]

^^^

And my dear friends it can also be RELI'N'TATA.

[rajeshkatiyar 3]

But they will never unite , we indians have at time tested tendency of nonunion

and back stabbing

[@ksh@T 20]

@ ashok u have spelled it wrong its VODEATEL

or probably u have made idea out of the alliance

;-)

[rbdhoot 11]

I think it is dangerous for us if they unite.

We will benefit only when they fight.

[hritik123 4]

YES its always better they have a competition between themselves or else we might end up like mtnl or bsnl of old days , with full monopoly

[Honest 836]

^^^

@hritik123

Yes my dear friend I too agree with you 100%. No one want back those old days of monopoly business of BSNL & MTNL. It is better that all cell companies compete with each other.

Remember :

UNITED THEY STAND, DIVIDED WE FALL.

Regards.