Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, promoter of Hutchison Telecom International Ltd (HTIL), will have a week between receiving bids for Hutch Essar and facing board members.
HTIL, which has put its entire 67% stake in Hutch Essar on the block, is believed to have invited potential buyers to put in their bids by Friday (February 9).
The HTIL board is slated to meet on February 15, when a decision on the appropriate buyer/s could be taken.
The Hong Kong-based telecom major is targeting the Chinese New Year (February 18) for sealing the deal, sources indicated. But in reality, that target may be tough to meet, it is felt.
The Hutch sale may not be quite like the Corus auction process, an expert said. While all the bids will be submitted on Friday, the management will then call one or more bidders to negotiate the offer price. Another round of bidding, with higher offer prices, would follow, before a winner is announced, he added.
Earlier, HTIL had indicated that nothing less than $14 billion for its 67% stake in Hutch Essar, the fourth-largest mobile operator in India, would be acceptable.
That figure translates into a minimum of $22 billion for the 100% stake in Hutch Essar.
Amid all the action at Hutch, the managing director of the company’s India operations, Asim Ghosh, was believed to be on leave. As of now, the potential bidders include UK’s Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Hindujas and Essar. Even as there were reports of Hindujas joining hands with Qatar Telecom for the bid, there has been no confirmation about that.
Hindujas are yet to complete their due diligence process, while other bidders are through with it. The world’s largest mobile company, Vodafone, and Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications are being seen as “natural buyers” in the Hutch deal. But both have said that they would not over-bid. Vodafone, especially, cannot take an emotional decision, a source said.
Essar, with 33% holding in Hutch Essar, is looking at trading gains from the deal. But it has also got funding assurance to acquire Hutch’s 67%, it is learnt. “So, in that sense, Essar is in the fray too,” an investment banking source argued.
As far as private equity funds go, they are not too keen to pick up stakes in Hutch Essar due to the “steep” cost of the asset, it is believed.
SOURCE : DNA MONEY
HTIL, which has put its entire 67% stake in Hutch Essar on the block, is believed to have invited potential buyers to put in their bids by Friday (February 9).
The HTIL board is slated to meet on February 15, when a decision on the appropriate buyer/s could be taken.
The Hong Kong-based telecom major is targeting the Chinese New Year (February 18) for sealing the deal, sources indicated. But in reality, that target may be tough to meet, it is felt.
The Hutch sale may not be quite like the Corus auction process, an expert said. While all the bids will be submitted on Friday, the management will then call one or more bidders to negotiate the offer price. Another round of bidding, with higher offer prices, would follow, before a winner is announced, he added.
Earlier, HTIL had indicated that nothing less than $14 billion for its 67% stake in Hutch Essar, the fourth-largest mobile operator in India, would be acceptable.
That figure translates into a minimum of $22 billion for the 100% stake in Hutch Essar.
Amid all the action at Hutch, the managing director of the company’s India operations, Asim Ghosh, was believed to be on leave. As of now, the potential bidders include UK’s Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Hindujas and Essar. Even as there were reports of Hindujas joining hands with Qatar Telecom for the bid, there has been no confirmation about that.
Hindujas are yet to complete their due diligence process, while other bidders are through with it. The world’s largest mobile company, Vodafone, and Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Communications are being seen as “natural buyers” in the Hutch deal. But both have said that they would not over-bid. Vodafone, especially, cannot take an emotional decision, a source said.
Essar, with 33% holding in Hutch Essar, is looking at trading gains from the deal. But it has also got funding assurance to acquire Hutch’s 67%, it is learnt. “So, in that sense, Essar is in the fray too,” an investment banking source argued.
As far as private equity funds go, they are not too keen to pick up stakes in Hutch Essar due to the “steep” cost of the asset, it is believed.
SOURCE : DNA MONEY
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