Aircel evaluates offers to sell 49% stake

Cellphone service provider Aircel Televentures on Friday said it was evaluating various offers from Indian and overseas telecom firms including a Russian firm which has offered to buy its 49 per cent stake.

Aircel Televentures, controlled by NRI businessman C Sivasankaran, has received a "non-binding offer" from AFK Sistema to buy 49 per cent stake in the Indian company for $450 million, a company spokesman said.

He, however, clarified that Aircel was also evaluating offers from other Indian and overseas telecom firms on the sale of its stake.

Russian firm eyes 49% in Aircel

With the government hiking the FDI cap in telecom to 74 per cent early this week, Aircel Televentures has also been re-evaluating its strategy, he said.

"We have not decided on the strategy in the wake of the hike in FDI limit in telecom to 74 per cent. We received the offer to buy 49 per cent stake as this was the limit prescribed the law for foreign players," he said.

Hutchison Telecommunication International had, last year, announced that it was buying Aircel's cellular operations.

However, the deal's exclusivity was over in November, allowing the company to talk with other interested parties.

The Aircel spokesman clarified that the company could also start fresh talks with Hutchison and the deal cannot be considered "dead".