INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
MUMBAI: Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries has received a go ahead from Competition Commission of India (CCI) to acquire majority
received approval from CCI on January 21 for acquisition.
ET was first to report on October 16, 2018, that RIL was close to acquire
controlling stakes two companies as it was looking at ramping up coverage of its ambitious high speed broadband network under
JioGigaFiber.
Later, RIL said it will acquire 66% in DEN and 51.3% in Hathway for a total consideration of Rs 5,230 crore
In DEN, RIL is making a primary investment of Rs 2,045 crore through a preferential issue and secondary purchase of Rs 245 crore from
existing promoters, while In Hathway, RIL is investing Rs 2,940 crore through a preferential issue.
As per SEBI regulations, investments
Hathway Bhawani Cabletel and Datacomm.
The acquisition will be carried out by six SPVs, 100% owned and controlled by Digital Media
Distribution Trust of which Reliance Content Distribution Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RIL is sole beneficiary.
The CCI approval
will allow Ambani to connect more households with high-speed broadband at a much faster pace
The company has an ambitious plan to connect 50 million homes across 1,100 cities, however, it was facing some resistance from local cable
Smart-Home Solutions to 24 million existing cable connected homes of these companies across 750 cities.
RIL also said it will ensure
compliance with all regulatory and statutory requirements at all times and works towards systematic growth of sector.
