New Delhi, July 19: UAE-based telecom operator Etisalat is understood to have come close in buying a minority 26 per cent stake in Anil Ambani group firm RCom for over Rs 15,000 crore.
An RCom spokesperson declined to comment, while Etisalat officials could not be reached.
Sources close to the development, however, said Etisalat, which owns 45 per cent in new telecom operator Swan, is working out modalities for the deal, as an operator cannot hold more than 10 per cent stake in two telecom companies.
Etisalat DB (Swan Telecom) holds license in 13 telecom circles.
On the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), RCom shares closed over two per cent up at Rs 191.25 a share amid reports that the UAE firm is close to pick up 26 per cent equity.
Etisalat can buy a stake in RCom only after divesting its current holding in Swan Telecom, as Indian regulations do not allow a single company to own more than than a 10 per cent stake in two telecom groups, as per existing guidelines.
Sources said that Etisalat is talking to RCom
to buy stake at book value of Rs 252 a share as compared to its current market price of over Rs 191. Going by this, sources said, the deal is valued at over Rs 15,000 crore. This, however, could not be confirmed.
“The deal, if it comes through, will be favourable for the company. Today, the scrip managed to rise even in the weak broader market, which shows the investors’ confidence in the stock,” SMC Global vice-president, Mr Rajesh Jain, said.
RCom on Monday also reported the addition of 2.8 million new wireless subscribers in June this year, taking its total subscriber base to 110 million.