Date:13/11/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/11/13/stories/2008111355971500.htm

Business

DoCoMo, Tata Tele strike $2.7-b deal

The Tokyo-based mobile operator will take 26% stake in Indian company

3 DoCoMo executives will be on Tata Tele board
Japanese company to provide know-how

— PHOTO: AFP

STRATEGIC INVESTMENT: Japan’s mobile communication giant NTT DoCoMo President Takamochi Yamada (right) with Tata Teleservices Managing Director Anil Sardana at a press conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.

TOKYO: Tokyo-based top mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, chasing a share of the world’s fastest growing mobile telephone market, on Wednesday said it would pay $2.7 billion (about Rs. 13,070 crore) for a 26-per cent stake in India’s Tata Teleservices Ltd. (TTSL).

DoCoMo, Japan’s top mobile operator, has been on the lookout for overseas acquisitions amid fierce competition between the top players in the Japan’s crowded mobile telephone market.

“We regard this investment as one of the top priorities of our international strategy,” DoCoMo Chief Executive Officer Ryuji Yamada told a press conference here.

“The key criteria for a young mobile operator like ours,” said Tata Teleservices Managing Director Anil Sardana, “is a partner who would bring the top most technology.” DoCoMo plans to send three executives to the board of the Tata group affiliate, which is the sixth-biggest mobile telephone operator in India. — AFP

Mumbai Special Correspondent writes:

Open offer

Besides, DoCoMo, in accordance with regulations of the Securities and Exchange Board of India, expects to make an open offer to acquire up to 20 per cent of outstanding equity shares of Tata Teleservices Maharashtra (TTML), a Tata telecommunication company, through a joint tender offer along with Tata Sons. TTSL and TTML through the Tata Indicom brand, have increased their combined share of the fast-growing Indian mobile market and their combined subscriber base now stands at over 30 million.

Market leader

NTT DoCoMo is a market leader in Japan and is used by over 50 per cent of Japan’s mobile phone users.

It serves over 53 million customers, including 46 million people subscribing to FOMATM (in Japan), launched as the world’s first 3G mobile service based on W-CDMA in 2001.

It offers a variety of leading-edge mobile multimedia services, including i-mode™, the world’s most popular mobile e-mail/Internet service, used by 48 million people.

With the addition of credit-card and other e-wallet functions, DoCoMo mobile phones have become versatile tools for daily life. It is listed on the Tokyo, London and New York stock exchanges. TTSL expects to leverage DoCoMo’s expertise in the development and delivery of value-added services, where DoCoMo is a firmly established market leader.