British telecom major Vodafone Group had bought the remaining 10.97 per cent stake held by Piramal Enterprises in its Indian unit on Thursday. Following the acquisition, the Newbury-based company owns the entire stake in GSM operator Vodafone India Ltd (VIL).

In March, Vodafone Group had bought indirect equity interests in VIL held by Analjit Singh and Neelu Analjit Singh, taking its stake to 89.03 per cent in VIL.

The combined cash consideration for both the transactions was Rs 10,142 crore, it said in a statement.

The Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) had approved both acquisitions on February 20, 2014.

“Vodafone is strongly committed to India and we have invested significantly over many years to bring communications to millions of people for the first time. Our business will continue to connect communities and offer the best products and services – from entertainment to our innovative money transfer service, M-Pesa – to enhance the lives of Indians throughout the country,” Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group, said.

Since Vodafone acquired its original interest in India from Hutchison in 2007, Vodafone India's customer base has grown around 550 per cent, from 30 million to just over 164 million customers. The Indian unit has operations across all 22 circles and provide employment to nearly 100,000 people directly and indirectly across the country.

>rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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