The Hindu : Business : US bidder for Hutch Essar?

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jan 04, 2007
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US bidder for Hutch Essar?

NEW YORK: The battle for control of India's fourth largest mobile operator Hutch Essar may become even more high-profile with a prospective buyer from the U.S.. telecom space joining the list of potential buyers doing the rounds.

So far, U.K.'s Vodafone Group and India's Reliance Communications are the only two potential bidders to have made public their interest in acquiring Hutch Essar.

However, the Indian partner in the joint venture Essar Group and Malaysia's Maxis Communications are also reported to have made indicative offers for the 67 per cent stake held by the foreign partner, Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom (HTIL).

Verizon's interest

Meanwhile, there have been reports about Egypt's Orascom, Qatar Telecom and a consortium of private equity funds mulling their respective bids for Hutch Essar.

Verizon Communications, which has a market capitalisation of more than $108 billion on NYSE, is the latest name being churned out by rumour mills for the prized Indian firm.

While a spokesperson of the U.S. firm told PTI it was the company's policy not to comment on ``this kind of speculation,'' industry sources said the move could be strategically important for Verizon as the U.S. market was near a saturation level and the Indian market offers great growth opportunities. — PTI

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