New Delhi: India's fourth-biggest mobile phone carrier, Reliance Communications Ltd, today said that it is in talks with Aircel to merge their wireless businesses.
According to reports, Reliance has entered into a 90-day exclusivity period with Aircel's majority owner Maxis Communications and another shareholder Sindya Securities and Investments Pvt Ltd.
While Malaysia's Maxis Communications holds a 74% stake in Aircel, Sindya Securities and Investments holds the remaining 26%.
Headquartered at Chennai, Aircel is the fifth largest mobile service provider in India. It commenced operations in Tamil Nadu in 1999. As of June 2015, it has subscriber base of 83.05 million.
The potential merger, reports said, will exclude Relaince's towers and optical fibre infrastructure, for which the company is proceeding with an asset sale, announced on December 4, 2015.
Reliance Communications, controlled by billionaire Anil Ambani, was established in 2002 and it has 109.90 million subscribers.
