BENGALURU (Reuters) - U.S. wireless carrier Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) and Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) may invest more than $4 billion for a stake in India’s Vodafone Idea Ltd (VODA.NS), the Mint newspaper reported on Thursday.
FILE PHOTO: The Verizon store in Superior, Colorado, U.S., July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Rick Wilking
The struggling Indian telecom firm’s shares rose as much as 30%.
The news comes days after India’s top court ruled that mobile carriers must settle government dues within 10 years, giving Vodafone Idea some reprieve in a case it had said could affect its ability to continue as a going concern.
Vodafone Idea, a joint venture between Britain’s Vodafone Group (VOD.L) and India’s Idea Cellular, still owes roughly $6.8 billion to the Indian government.
Vodafone Idea's stake-sale talks had been paused pending the court ruling, but Amazon and Verizon are now set to resume them, Mint reported, citing two people aware of the negotiations. (bit.ly/356USDD)
Amazon and Verizon did not respond to Reuters requests for comment outside regular U.S. business hours.
The Tuesday ruling gives Vodafone Idea — India’s third largest telecom firm by subscribers — some respite but analysts say the loss-making company’s financial pressures persist.
Shares in Vodafone Idea hit a more than one-year high before closing up 26.77% amid a flurry of news about its fundraising plans.
CNBC-TV18 reported Vodafone Idea could "take stock" of a sale of its optic fibre business at a Friday board meeting scheduled to discuss fundraising plans. (bit.ly/352vP4A)
Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAMa.TO) and private equity group KKR & Co Inc (KKR.N) were contenders for the business, CNBC-TV18 said.
Vodafone Idea was planning to raise about $1.5 billion and was working with advisers as it seeks investors, Bloomberg News reported.
Vodafone Idea and KKR declined to comment, while a representative for Brookfield did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar and Sethuraman N.R.; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Subhranshu Sahu and Shounak Dasgupta
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