Russian telecommunications holding company Sistema has no plans to acquire a majority stake in Indian operator Aircell, reports Tass-Telecom, citing Vsevolod Rozanov, the CEO of Sistema Shyam TeleServices (SSTL). SSTL is the Indian subsidiary of Sistema and operates under the MTS India brand. The Economic Times of India had reported that Sistema was close to acquiring a controlling stake in Aircel for around USD 3 billion.
The Economic Times cited two people familiar with the development as saying Sistema would buy into Aircel's parent company, based overseas, with rights to have the Indian arm transferred to it after an ongoing restructuring process is completed. Malaysia's Maxis Communications owns 74 percent of Aircel through multiple entities, which are being consolidated into a single company. The Economic Times cited an Aircel spokesman as saying the company was not aware of any such development.
The Economic Times reported that one of the sources said the transaction was being structured in such a manner that it would enable Sistema's Indian arm to bid for CDMA airwaves. While the mergers and acquisition guidelines in the telecoms sector prevent a company from owning more than 10 percent of another, this would not be apply in this case as the Russian company would buy shares in Maxis.
The Economic Times reported that Sistema said it would decide whether to participate in the spectrum auction after the Supreme Court hears its petition for exemption from February's verdict cancelling 122 2G licences, including 21 belonging to SSTL. Sistema had served a legal notice under the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) in February saying if the 2G licence dispute was not settled by conciliation by 28 August, it reserved the right to commence proceedings against the government of India.
