Telecom

Airtel, Reliance Jio and Sterlite Tech bid for Aircel assets, says report

Updated : September 20, 2018 07:24 PM IST

Aircel Cellular Ltd and Dishnet Wireless Ltd, together known as Aircel, owe their creditors about Rs 50,000 crore.

The telecom operator lost its luster after Reliance Jio Infocomm entered the market with its cheap data and free call offers.

Lenders to Aircel, however, believe that a lump sale to a single party would get the best outcome, the report said.

Airtel, Reliance Jio and Sterlite Tech bid for Aircel assets, says report

Telecom operators Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio and Sterlite Technologies and two other investment firms have bid separately to acquire assets of debt-ridden Aircel Ltd, The Mint reported, adding that the lenders to Aircel may still have to take a large haircut.

Earlier in February, Aircel filed for insolvency due to high debt and increased losses.

Aircel Cellular and Dishnet Wireless, together known as Aircel, owe their creditors about Rs 50,000 crore which includes Rs 15,545 crore to financial creditors and Rs 35,000 crore to operational creditors, the report said.

The telecom operator lost its luster after Reliance Jio entered the market with its cheap data and free call offers.

Lenders to Aircel, however, believe that a lump sale to a single party would get the best outcome. “The bids have been received. But we are thinking of the possibility of a lump sum sale, that is, give all of the assets to a single party. This should get better value for the assets. In a couple of days, these talks should happen. We are hoping to get over Rs 25,000 crore from asset sale proceeds,” a person familiar with the development told Mint.

Aircel holds about 65 MHz spectrum in the 2,100 MHz band, 103 MHz spectrum in the 1,800 MHz band and 21 MHz spectrum in the 900 MHz band. The bids for the sale of assets closed on Monday, added the report.

Sterlite Technologies, in a statement to the stock exchanges said, “We wish to inform you that this is factually incorrect, and that the Company denies having participated in any such bid. We are unable to comment on this news and rumours. The Company also confirms that any event/information which has bearing on the operations.”

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