RIL-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm has emerged the front-runner to acquire the assets of debt-ridden Reliance Communications (RCom).
RCom has put its spectrum, towers and fibre on the block. If the company’s asset monetisation plans fructify, it would be worth a total of ₹35,000 crore.
“RJio is leading the talks to acquire all assets RCom intends to sell, while a number of Private Equity (PE) firms and other strategic investors are also in the fray. The company is also in talks with foreign lenders for co-development of its Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) campus in Navi Mumbai,” a source close to the development told
RJio is in talks to acquire a range of RCom’s spectrum, which will be valued at about ₹19,000 crore for the remainder of the licence period. The company, controlled by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, is also in advanced stages of discussions to acquire RCom’s telecom tower portfolio.
RCom has about 43,600 towers, valued at ₹8,000-9,000 crore. Further, RJio is also in talks to acquire RCom’s domestic fibre, which spans 1.72-lakh km and is valued at about ₹4,000 crore, sources added.
RCom and RJio declined to comment.
Separately, RCom is also in talks with a clutch of PE firms to sell its stake in wholly-owned subsidiary Global Cloud Xchange (GCX). The company has mandated Credit Suisse to find a majority investor in GCX and expects to rake in another ₹7,000 crore from the sales.
For the co-development of its 133-acre DAKC campus, RCom is believed to be in discussions with Chinese lenders, including China Development Bank.
Meanwhile, RCom’s share price surged by around 44 per cent at the fag-end of the trading session on Wednesday, following reports that the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had adjourned the hearing of insolvency petitions against the company to early next month.
The stock closed 35.24 per cent higher at ₹17.27 on BSE. During the day, it rose sharply by 44.94 per cent to ₹18.51. At NSE, shares of the company rose 35.68 per cent to end at ₹17.30.
RCom shares surge44%
RCom’s share price surged by around 44 per cent at the fag-end of the trading session on Wednesday, following reports that the National Company Law Tribunal had adjourned the hearing of insolvency petitions against the company to early next month. After registering an intra-day high of ₹18.51 on the BSE, the RCom stock closed at ₹17.27, an increase of 35.24 per cent over Tuesday’s close.