Business Standard
Two top private equity players — Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) and Blackstone — have put in bids for a total of eight per cent stake in Idea Cellular, India’s third-largest telecom operator by users.
“The companies have put in bids at a decent premium to the prevailing stock price,” said an investment banker familiar with the developments. Shares of Idea on Wednesday closed at Rs 137.85 apiece, down 1.85 per cent from their previous close on the BSE.
While KKR India said it would not comment on the speculation, Blackstone and Idea did not respond to questionnaires sent by Business Standard on Monday.
Singapore’s state-owned investment company, Temasek, is also known to be looking to invest in a telecom company in India, though its involvement in the Idea deal could not be confirmed.
Idea is also trying to raise funds through a qualified institutional placement (QIP). It had come close to clinching a deal last September but that could not go through.
The company had taken an enabling resolution that it planned to raise as much as Rs 3,000 crore through QIP. Its largest investor, Malaysia’s telco Axiata, with a 19.9 per cent stake, has said it would invest as much as Rs 750 crore to maintain its stake in the company.
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