INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
In March 2017, two firms had announced that Vodafone will merge its India operations with Idea CellularMumbai/New Delhi: Aditya Birla Group
Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla today said the government has given final approval to the Vodafone-Idea Cellular merger marking the beginning
Birla said he is "very optimistic" about the two firms coming together, creating India's largest mobile operator worth over $23 billion
approval from the Department of Telecom," Birla said in response to a query at group company Hindalco's conference
earlier in the day that the government has accorded final approval to the merger
"It is a very exciting journey ahead of us in the sense of Idea and Vodafone coming together
Balesh Sharma -- currently chief operating officer of Vodafone India -- will be the new CEO of the merged entity, which will remain
are yet to decide on the branding for the new entity
In March 2017, the two companies had announced that the UK-based Vodafone will combine its Indian operations with Idea Cellular, which is a
telecom operator with widest mobile network
They had said that the "merger of equals with joint control of the combined company" will lead to substantial cost and capex synergies --
They received conditional nod from the DoT on July 9 for the merger
Idea Cellular and Vodafone were asked to meet the demand raised for taking merger on record and earlier this week they made a joint payment
demanded by the DoT for the merger
in the Indian telecom market where Reliance Jio has led a relentlessly bruising price war
The combination will have the capacity to provide 4G spectrum in all telecom circles of the country
According to a presentation by Idea, the combined 4G spectrum of both the companies is capable of offering up to 450 megabit per second
As per the merger blueprint, Vodafone will own 45.1 stake in the combined entity, while Kumar Mangalam Birla-led Aditya Birla Group would
Group's shareholdings in the combined company are not equal after four years, Vodafone will sell shares in the combined company to
voting rights of the additional shares held by Vodafone will be restricted and votes will be exercised jointly under the terms of the
