Reliance Communications revealed on Tuesday it is in exclusive talks with Aircel about a merger that would see the telco overtake Vodafone to become India’s second-biggest mobile operator.
In a statement, RCom said the 90-day exclusivity period will see the companies "consider the potential combination of the Indian wireless business of RCom and Aircel to mutually derive the expected substantial benefits of in-country consolidation, including opex and capex synergies and revenue enhancement."
Reliance Communications said the discussions do not include Reliance Infratel, which it agreed to sell to Tillman Capital and TPG Asia earlier in December, or its nationwide fibre assets, which are under consideration, also by Tillman and TPG, as part of separate transaction.
According to the most recent subscriber figures from the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI), a merged RCom and Aircel would be India’s second-largest mobile operator, with 194.38 million customers as of 30 September. RCom currently holds fourth spot with 110.39 million, while Aircel lies in fifth with almost 84 million.
By comparison, current number two, Vodafone, had 188.17 million mobile customers at the end of September, while market leader Bharti Airtel boasted 235.21 million.
RCom is also involved in another Indian wireless merger that would see it consolidate second place.
In November, the company agreed to acquire Sistema Shyam Teleservices (SSTL). The addition of Sistema’s 8.36 million customers would leave a combined RCom/Aircel/Sistema with 202.74 million in total.
However, RCom cautioned on Tuesday that its talks with Aircel are non-binding, "hence, there is no certainty that any transaction will result."
