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Telstra deal consummated -- Legal formalities remain

Our Bureau

CALCUTTA, June 20

MODICORP and its associates -- AIG Infrastructure and Distacom -- have together bought over Telstra International's 49 per cent equity stake in Modi Telstra Ltd, provider of the Command cellphone service in Calcutta. The deal, for an undisclosed sum, was ``consummated'' between the parties concerned on June 2.

This was stated here on Tuesday during an interface with newspersons by Mr. S. Venkatraman, Chief Operating Officer of Modi Telstra Ltd. However, the legal formalities including transfer of shares were yet to be completed.

Mr. Venkatraman informed that the cellular service provider could continue with the Telstra brand-name till December this year as per an agreement with the Australian telecom major. A decision on the new brand and its positioning would be taken up in the meantime. An initiative had also been launched to identify a Chief Executive Officer in place of the erstwhile incumbent, Mr. Barry Cooney, a representative of Telstra.

The cellular service provider with a net customer base of 61,000 was hopeful of ending the financial year July 1999-June 2000 with a revenue of Rs. 80 crores -- up from Rs. 64 crores the previous year -- and a marginal operating profit. In the next f inancial year ending June 30,2001, it was hopeful of augmenting revenue to Rs. 120 crores.

In the meantime, a capital expenditure of around Rs. 45 crores was entailed even as plans were being firmed up to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in the next two years.