Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Spice awaits IPO before deciding on merger with Idea

It is learnt that Spice Telecom may be in talks for a possible merger with Idea Cellular. Spice Telecom has revenues of Rs 1000 crore and has been valued between Rs 4500-5000 crore.

Spice Tele has 2.8 million shareholders and operates in two circles - Punjab and Karnataka.

At this point of time, it might make sense for Idea to make the move, as it is a nine-circle operator and might want to expand its India footprint. Also, getting new spectrum might take longer. So, the move makes perfect sense and is the fastest way for Idea to expand.

BK Modi, Chairman of Spice Tele said that at this point they were not in merger talks, but confirmed that there was a proposal for a merger with Idea. Currently, they were concentrating on their IPO, after which merger talks might resume. Meanwhile, Sanjeev Aga, Managing Director, Idea Cellular said that he had "no comment" to make.

Spice Tele's IPO was to float in June-July this year.

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