Vodafone bags Hutch for US$ 19.3 Billion !

[sanket55555 0]

Vodafone wins Hutch-Essar for $19.3 billion

IBNlive.com

Sunday , February 11, 2007 at 21:49

New Delhi: The long-drawn ‘bid battle’ for Hutch-Essar finally came to an end on Sunday as UK telecom giant Vodafone acquired India's fourth largest mobile venture for an estimated enterprise value of US $19.3 billion (Rs 85,000 crores).

Essar welcomed the offer and said it is indeed “good price” for the company.

“This is a good price, which reflects the premier position of Hutchison Essar as India's leading operator. Essar owns 33 per cent of the company and we are delighted that Hutchison and Essar have together created this value,” said the company in a statemnt.

Sources told CNN-IBN that Vodaphone has offered Essar to become a partner firm. The board is evaluating the option and is likely to appear with a decision shortly. “We have been offered by Vodafone to be their partner. We are at the moment evaluating all our options in the best interest of the Group,” said Essar in a statement.

Vodafone, the world’s largest mobile phone group by revenue, emerged winner at the Hutchison Telecom Ltd's Board Meeting at Hong Kong convened for considering the four bids for its 67 per cent stake put on the block late in 2006.

Essar, a conglomerate, that owns 33 per cent of Hutchison-Essar Limited has 21 days time to decide on whether to exercise its RoFR (matching the top bid) or the tag-along right (to sell its 33 per cent stake in the venture).

The company’s India operations expects reaching out to 180 million mobile phone users by end-2007, up more than 25 per cent from 143 million now.

[Saurav 22]

HTIL is just being replaced by Vodafone

So now we can expect better services as Vodafone is a leading Int. Player.

Reliance has lost so Anil has understood that he can't be Mukesh.

[Puneet 0]

Serves Jr Ambani right, because if he had won Hutch, he would be the biggest player in the market with the monopoly, and that would have been bad for us the customers.

[copperco2 24]

@ puneet

Ditto

my wishes came true..

[HetalDP 947]

Hurray

Vodafone WIns Hutch and Thats anytime better for Reliance Customer

So if Now Reliance moves to GSM or WCDMA we will have Brand new Single Thread Weaven Network with All EDGE enabled Network.

Hutch is the COmpany where BPL, Hutch-Max, Orange of Bombay, CellForce (Modi Group) of Gujarat and Another Operator I can remember the Name have been Merge. There Are So many Technological Differences and the Network is So much Patched.

Existing Reliance Customer must not have Received Better GSM on avarage 6 year old Network.

Hurray we are headed for Brand New Network. Why Worry How much customer did our company have. This make no sense on Pricing as it is defined by Industry and not at all decided by Size of COmpany.

[copperco2 24]

By the way..

It seems Vodaone has nor announced its acquisition..

there is a catch and that is..

if Essar want to equal or raise the bar then it can do so and steal the co. from under the nose of Vodafone.

Things can only become cleare by tommorrow..

one more btw what is the reputation of Vodafone in the circled it operares.

Is it the trendsetter or the follower?

[Sadikk 301]

It hurts, patriotically

[Honest 836]

Well my dear friends, now we can expect something better from Vadofone.

Cheers !

[sanket55555 0]

vodafone has bagged hutch essar at USD 18.8bn. (hutchison telecom international ltd gets USD 11.1bn )

vodafone has also sold off 5.6% in airtel (USD 1.6bn)

[copperco2 24]

way to go..

Now LAdies and Gentlemen ..let s have some real competition

[abhay 0]

Ambani welcomes Vodafone

Reliance Communications Chairman Anil Ambani today welcomed Vodafone to India, after the UK giant emerged the top bidder for Hutch-Essar with a $ 18.8 billion bid.

"We congratulate Vodafone and welcome them to India. Vodafone's participation is a further endorsement of the exciting future growth potential, and the progressive policies, prevailing in the Indian telecom sector," Reliance Communications Chairman Anil D Ambani said in a statement.

On his company's bid, Ambani said: "Reliance's bid was made in line with our publicly declared and consistent philosophy of sustainable value creation, and financial conservatism, in the face of truly challenging acquisition valuations."

A consortium led by NRI business group Hindujas and Essar, were the other bidders in the fray for India's fourth largest telecom operator Hutch-Essar.

Meanwhile, Ambani announced that his company would maintain substantial financial strength and flexibility, while investing a record capex of Rs 11,000 crore ($ 2.5 billion) in the coming financial year.

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/006200702121141.htm

[KumaarShah 143]

Good news, at last ADA has been beaten fair and square. It is going to take atleast 2 to 4 years for RCL to enter GSM in a full-fdedged way. Serves him right. Congrats to Vodafone.

[sanket55555 0]

but we all are expecting a speedy roll-out atleast in mumbai

[HetalDP 947]

DOnt worry Sanket we will have WCDMA or HSPDA in mumbai from Reliance Dont Wait for GSM.

[sanket55555 0]

^^^ do u mean from the other gsm operators?????

[anuragz 4]

According to latest news Vodafone has signed an agreement with Bharti to use 70000 common towers in the country.

I remenber few months back Reliance also signed such an agreement with Hutch to use around 50000 common towers.

i wonder if all the service providers start using common towers then there will be no trouble of network unavailability in any region

[HetalDP 947]

I am Indicating @ Reliance in WCDMA

Edited February 12, 2007 by hpnasik

[anujit 0]

2 points to make:

1. Vodafone bought the 67% stake for US$ 11.1 b not $19 b.

2. HP dude - its going to be EVDO not WCDMA for RIM moving forward.

[copperco2 24]

yup.

$19b is the enterprise valuation. and the Hutch..Wham.. stake will be evaluated accordingly.

[HetalDP 947]

Definately the Organic Evolution Path for CDMA is 1xMC or EVDO and Nothing else. But As Reliance is also Present in 8 Circle with GSM they are Evaluting to Directly go for WCDMA in First Phase as only 1 Channel of 1.25 is available for CDMA Player for EVDO and 2 x 1.25 will be availale when they Refarm some of the 900 Mhz GSM operators to 1900 as 800-850-900 is Densely used Evolution path for EVDO is too crowded and 5 Mhz for EVDO in means 5 Mhz for Upload and another 5 for download means for tata and reliance it will be 20 Mhz which is not available now.

Moving one PLayer Direclt in WCDMA and Tata will remain with EVDO is the general assumtion now a days.

[anujit 0]

I really don't think that can be technologically done, i.e. keeping the voice calls in CDMA & data in WCDMA. Of course dual mode handsets are available nowadays at premium pricing. However none of them can run both modes simultaneously. So CDMA players can either go EVDO or rot in hell.

HP dude seem to through a lot of engineering hoola at us dumb non-techie folk. Somehow you don't want to agree that WCDMA stuff cant run on CDMA handsets.

Just three questions... how can CDMA and WCDMA exist in the same space? Has anyone ever done it? What makes you think RIM will?

Edited February 12, 2007 by anujit

[HetalDP 947]

Definately CDMA device is InCompatible with WCDMA. I am Talking about an Pure New Network of WCDMA. and our old CDMA will not work at all. on that.

But Old RAN, Passive RF Cable, RF Tower Definately supports.

An Operator in New Zealand had done it. They have gone to WCDMA directly from CDMA without EVDO. And Appoaching the Customer if they want 3G they have to buy WCDMA Handset. and this is a Fact.

EVDO is Definately the easiest Upgrade for 3G in world as it work on Native RF Unit with 1.25 or Multi 1.25 Channel.And All 1.25 Channel are also not required in Sequence. means You replace any CDMA 1x RTT Card and Just Push new EVDO card in it. and Yes the Tower is Ready. as EVDO can work in same Home Frequncy the Older 1x RTT works. Tower Realignment is not needed at all.

WCDMA have Lesser Range InFact as Higher the Frequency Lower the Range. You know 92.7 Mhz Spectrum of of FM travels upto 70 km and WCDMA Spctrum can travel only. 6 Km. So every GSM operator must have realign, rearrange the Tower for Better Coverage.

as TRAI Policy any Operator can not have 3G Spectrum more than 5 Mhz. and also they can not demand 3G Spectrum for two Different Technology. Unless they Agree to have (1.25 for EVDO and 3.75 for WCDMA). In Wolrd there are not equipment for WCDMA which can work on 3.75 Mhz. as WCDMA = Wideband CDMA and Require atleast 5Mhz for Upload and 5 Mhz for Download.

[sanket55555 0]

if we go by ur explanation, then it also makes good sense for reliance to go directly onto umts (which is a GSMA standard), and not lay the 2.5g or 2g networks at all. (and in any case he is entering the gsm space just for the high revenue customers)

and he might as well leave his current CDMA 1xRTT network only for voice i.e. 2.5g (low revenue customers)

why complicate things.

[abhay 0]

Reliance Comm to launch price war with Vodafone entry

With British telecom giant Vodafone entering the country in a dominant manner through its successful acquisition of Hutch Essar, the Indian market is set to witness a price war of the kind it witnessed last when CDMA operators entered the scenario in 2003. Though the tariffs are at a historic low at present and schemes like free incoming calls for lifetime have ensured that a customer can be mobile forever by just paying the nominal entry tariff, but this time the price war is likely to centre around freebies.

Though Reliance Communications Ltd chairman Anil Ambani has welcomed the entry of Vodafone into the country observers believe Reliance would be at the forefront of the impending price war. “Vodafone, which is the world’s largest telecom operator by revenue, hasn’t paid $11.1 billion to be content at the fourth slot, where the company is now in the pecking order. Naturally, it would invest heavily in marketing and advertising and come out with novel schemes to garner larger marketshare and move up the ladder,” an analyst said.

Analysts said that with the country’s largest mobile operator Bharti Airtel and Vodafone closing ranks and strengthening their existing relationship, it’s unlikely that the two would fight bitterly in the marketplace. The second largest mobile operator, the state-owned Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, has the potential to offer competition but the rule-bound PSU culture may inhibit its growth. However, once BSNL is able to add capacity, for which the award of tender is stuck in the Delhi High Court, its rural reach would be formidable and it may join the price war.

Sources said that Reliance may initiate schemes reminiscent of its old Monsoon Hungama days where a subscriber could get a mobile connection for Rs 500. Schemes can be bundled with value added services and also broadband.

A price war at this stage is also imminent since regional players, whose presence were limited to a few circles, have applied for new licences, have got some and are in the process of commissioning the service. For instance, Idea Cellular would start operations in Mumbai and Bihar by the end of 2007. To garner subscribers in the new circles, these operators would introduce attractive schemes, which would have to be countered by the incumbents.

Apart from the price war, fight for spectrum would also get fiercer. Already, the Cellular Operators Association of India’s proposal to introduce a hierarchy of preference for allotting additional spectrum between existing pan-India operators and those carving a national footprint has met with opposition from certain players.

http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_st...ntent_id=154591

Ruias jump 165 places to 80th on the Forbes rich list

Vodafone’s successful bid for a controlling stake in the Indian business of Hutchison Telecom International (HTIL) has created a history of sorts. First, it has paved the way for Vodafone’s entry into the fastest growing mobile communications market in the world. Secondly, it has taken telecom valuations in India to dizzying heights.

And last, but not the least, it has catapulted the Ruias high up on the Forbes list of global billionaires. Little wonder then that while analysts are reconfiguring spreadsheets in their mad scramble to assess the impact of this deal on valuations of other companies in the telecom sector, the Ruias — who hold one-third stake in Hutch-Essar — are probably as pleased as punch.

The Vodafone deal puts the enterprise value for Hutch-Essar at $18.8 billion. Consequently, Ruias’ holding in the company now amounts to a tidy $6.3 billion. Besides telecom, the Essar group has interests in several other businesses, including shipping, steel and petroleum refining and marketing. The Ruias’ stake in these other listed enterprises is currently estimated to be worth $437 million.

This aggregated figure of $6.7 billion means that the Ruias will climb 165 places in the current Forbes ranking to the 80th place. The 2006 list of the wealthiest people in the world compiled by Forbes includes names of 22 Indians.

The Ruias, before this deal, were ranked 245th on this list with a net worth of just over $2.6 billion. The higher ranking after the deal will see them rubbing shoulders with the likes of leveraged-buyouts king Ronald Perelman and gambling & leisure industry moghul, Stanley Ho.

The Essar group will also rank ahead of the Anil Ambani group (106th spot) and the Kumar Mangalam Birla Group (140th slot). However, with the spate of acquisitions being made and the rising net worth of various Indian business groups, the pecking order might alter dramatically by the time next year’s rankings are released.

For the moment though, it’s that Indian promoters and companies are steadily rising, whether as Fortune 500 companies or as Forbes billionaires. And that is reason enough for India Inc to celebrate.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/N...how/1601441.cms

[anujit 0]

In that case HP they will close their CDMA business... and move it all the GSM? Is that what you're saying.