New Delhi: In one of the major boot to the telecom sector, Aditya Birla Group-promoted Idea Cellular and Vodafone India today announced the much-awaited merger which is considered as biggest merger till yet.
Board of Directors of Idea Cellular in a regulatory filing on Monday said, “Have approved the scheme of merger of Vodafone India Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Service Limited with the company (Idea).”
Idea Company said in a statement that Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent of the combined company.
It added, “The Aditya Birla Group will then own 26 per cent and has the right to acquire more shares from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time.”
Chairman of Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam Birla said, “For Idea shareholders and lenders who have supported us thus far, this transaction is highly accretive, and Idea and Vodafone will together create a very valuable company given our complementary strength.”
The Chief Executive of Vodafone Group Plc, Vittorio Colao said, “The combination of Vodafone India and Idea will create a new champion of Digital India founded with a long-term commitment and vision to bring world-class 4G networks to villages, towns and cities across India.”
He added, “The combined company will have the scale required to ensue sustainable consumer choice in a competitive market and to expand new technologies -such as mobile money services – that have the potential to transform daily life of every Indian.”
