The Indian telecom industry is seeing some big changes. With the entry of another giant in the form of Reliance Jio, we are seeing a phase of consolidation in the industry. There have been a few rumours about Reliance Communications and Aircel merging, and today the Securities Exchange Board of India has formally approved it. Prior to this, we have also been hearing about the possibility of Vodafone and Idea merging, with an official announcement expected this week.
In response to the application filed by Reliance Communications Ltd., the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange Of India (NSE), have given their approval. Now, finally, the proposed Scheme of arrangement for demerger of the wireless division of the company into Aircel Ltd and Dishnet Wireless Ltd will take place. This will be done in order to establish a new entity, which will create the country’s third-largest mobile operator by subscriber base.
According to the application filed by the Reliance Communications with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai Bench, after the closing of the deal, RCom and the present shareholders of Aircel Ltd will hold 50% each in Aircel Ltd. In the process of demerger, the tower assets and fixed-line enterprise units will be kept intact with RCom while the wireless units will be merged into Aircel.
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Along with RCom, Aircel’s Malaysia-based promoter Maxis Communications Berhad will also hold 50 percent share in each venture with equal representation in the board. Before this, RCom merged with Sistema JSFC’s Indian operations – MTS – under which the Russian company now holds a 10 percent stake in RCom. The merged entity carries a debt of Rs 28,000 crore which both the companies distribute equally. Let’s see how the two companies push their independent ventures along with the new entity which will be soon established.
