Journalism of Courage
UK-based Vodafone Group has ruled out selling its around 5 per cent stake in the holding company of Bharti Airtel in the near future as there is no buyer.
Thats not a stake in Bharti. Its a stake in holding company privately owned by the Mittal family and I think its sitting there and one day it will be worth something but for the time being there is no buyer, Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao said.
He said the company is yet to find a buyer at the right price. If I havent sold it,it means there hasnt been a buyer or there hasnt been a buyer at the right price, he added.
The new rules bar holding stake in competitors as both Vodafone India,a subsidiary of the UK-based group and Bharti Airtel offer telecom services in India.
I am sure we will find a solution which is respectful of the law, Colao told journalists late last night.
In a letter to the telecom ministry in July,Vodafone had said it holds 4.4 per cent stake indirectly in Bharti.
Vodafone have to sell its entire stake in Airtel following new norms issued by government that bars a telecom operator from holding any kind of stake in competition under Unified Licences.
FIPB to take up Vodafones proposal today
New Delhi: The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) will on Friday consider the Rs 10,141 crore proposal of UK telecom giant Vodafone to acquire the remaining stake in its Indian arm. pti
