After buying out its Indian partner Essar, Vodafone is looking for new investors in its Indian mobile unit, reports The Economic Times. Vodafone has initiated talks with at least two private equity companies to sell a stake in its India operations, said a person involved in the discussions. He declined to name the prospective buyers. Earlier this month, Vodafone and Essar exercised options to transfer all of Essar's 33 percent in the India's third-largest mobile operator by subscribers to Vodafone for USD 5.46 billion. At the end of that transaction, Vodafone will cross the limit on foreign holding in a telecommunication company by 1 percent, forcing it to divest at least that much to a domestic partner. The person said Vodafone's hunt for a foreign partner would involve a possible increase in stakes of Indian partners Analjit Singh, Ashim Ghosh and IDFC along with a transfer of shares held directly by Vodafone overseas. The percentage stake that will be divested to a new equity partner will depend on the valuation the buyer offers after evaluation, the person said. Vodafone's spokesman Ben Padoven declined to comment on the issue. On condition of anonymity a group official told ET that the company may offload 1 percent to the existing Indian investors and then offload a large stake to a financial investor from abroad. Vodafone's estimated investment in the India arm is already around USD 18 billion.
