Idea Cellular, Vodafone initiate steps to obtain regulatory approvals for merger
Idea Cellular said that it along with Vodafone has initiated necessary steps to obtain regulatory approvals for the merger . In a statement on Saturday, Idea Cellular said that a joint merger notification has been filed with the ‘Competition Commission of India’ (CCI) and the Scheme of Arrangement has been filled with SEBI & Stock Exchanges for their approvals.
"The company remains confident to capitalise on the emerging opportunities in mobile voice, digital content, mobile banking & wireless data business as telecom market invariably moves towards consolidation with 5 major providers," the company said in a statement.
Competition Commission of India clears Vodafone-Idea merger
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) on Monday approved the proposed merger between Vodafone India and Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Idea Cellular, which is seen as a key step in clearing the way for creating India’s biggest phone company by subscribers.
The new combined entity will remain listed and be renamed at a later stage. The promoters of Idea and Vodafone would have the right to nominate three members each on the board, which will have 12 directors, six of whom will be independent.
Vodafone India and Idea Cellular merger deal is expected to be completed by March 2018, as all regulatory approvals are likely to be obtained by that time, a source privy to the deal said. "There are only two permission left in the amalgamation scheme of the Idea and Vodafone," a source told PTI.