Back Telekom Malaysia buys 49 pc in Spice for $179 m
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| Pips Maxis Communications in clinching deal |
The deal
The stake was purchased from Deutsche Bank and Ashmore Investment Management Ltd consortium.
The remaining stake would continue to be held by the B K Modi-owned McorpGlobal.
Bangalore , March 10
Telekom Malaysia (TM) has picked up a 49 per cent stake in Spice Communications Private Ltd for $178.85 million. The deal will close in a month.
The company has pipped rival Maxis Communications in clinching the deal. It has a global mobile subscriber base of over 20 million and is Malaysia's fourth largest listed firm. Spice operates in two circles, Punjab and Karnataka, with a total subscriber base of over 1.8 million.
The stake was purchased from Deutsche Bank and Ashmore Investment Management Ltd consortium. The remaining stake would continue to be held by the B K Modi-owned McorpGlobal.
A statement from the Telekom Malaysia Chairman, Mr Mohd Radzi Mansor, said the proposed investment was consistent with the company's objectives of becoming a significant mobile player in the Asian markets. The company has strong presence in the Asia Pacific region, with investments in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Cambodia, Singapore and Pakistan and has now begun focussing on India.
"India is the missing piece in our regional footprint. Now Spice, as part of the TM family, strengthens our regional presence and complements our existing presence in Sri Lanka where we are the number one, and Bangladesh where we are the number two mobile operator," he said.
In reply to a query about the valuation, Mr Modi said, "Frankly, it is a little less. But the relationship is important."
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