Telecom ministry grants conditional approval to Idea-Vodafone merger
Idea-Vodafone
A total sum of Rs 3,926 crore will be paid to the department in cash as a one-time spectrum charge
According to reports, the telecom ministry (DoT) today granted conditional approval to the long-pending Vodafone India-Idea Cellular merger. Debt-ridden Idea Cellular and Vodafone India will get a breather from a merger that is set to create the country's largest mobile services operator, an official source said.
"DoT has cleared the Vodafone-Idea merger today. They will have to meet conditions for final approval," the source told PTI.
A total sum of Rs 3,926 crore will be paid to the department in cash as a one-time spectrum charge. The DoT has also asked Idea Cellular to furnish a combined bank guarantee of Rs 3,342 crore, the source further said.
Idea and Vodafone will merge their operations to create the country's largest telecom operator worth over USD 23 billion (or over Rs 1.5 lakh crore). The merge will enjoy a 35 per cent market share and a subscriber base of around 430 million.
Idea Cellular and Vodafone India reel from a combined debt estimated at around Rs 1.15 lakh crore.
"The merger will be taken on-record after Idea furnishes required bank guarantee and gives an undertaking of owning the liabilities of Vodafone India that may arise in future," the source said.
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Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would have 26 per cent and Idea shareholders 28.9 per cent respectively.
According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies are capable of offering up to 450 megabits per second broadband speed on mobile phones in 12 Indian markets.
With the new entity coming in force, Bharti Airtel will lose the tag of India's biggest telecom service provider to the new entity which is proposed to be called Vodafone Idea Limited.