Reliance Communications OKs Plan to Sell 26% Stake (Update1) - Bloomberg.com

Reliance Communications Ltd., controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, said its board has “in principle” approved a plan to sell as much as a 26 percent stake to a strategic or private equity investor.

The company would sell the shares at an “appropriate premium to the prevailing market price” and “examine and pursue other appropriate strategic combination or consolidation opportunities,” the Mumbai-based company said in an e-mailed statement today. Reliance didn’t provide any names of potential buyers.

The nation’s second-largest mobile phone operator said June 2 it had received “various proposals” from overseas companies, commenting after the Times of India newspaper that day reported Emirates Telecommunications Corp., known as Etisalat, was in advanced talks to buy a 25 percent stake. Etisalat spokesman Ahmed Bin Ali said Indian operators were among companies being looked at for possible investment, though it didn’t specify Reliance Communications or a timeframe for any deals.