Reliance Communications (RCom), which had initiated talks for a three-way merger with Aircel and MTS, has extended the date of the talks by further 30 days to June 22, 2016. If the merger goes through, the combined entity will be the second-largest operator in the country in terms of subscribers.

On Saturday, the company said it had made “substantial progress” in the talks, adding RCom, Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) and Sindya Securities and Investments Private Limited have mutually extended the exclusivity period.

“The discussions, though at advanced stage, are non-binding in nature. Any transaction is subject to completion of due diligence, definitive documentation and regulatory, shareholders’ and other third party approvals,” it said adding, there was no certainty that any transaction will result.

Earlier in December, the company said the agreement with Aircel does not include RCom’s towers, optical fibre infrastructure and under-sea cable businesses. RCom had inked a separate agreement to sell its tower assets to private equity firms TPG and Tillman Global. Separately, the two PE firms are also evaluating RCom’s nationwide inter- and intra-city optical fibre assets.

Together, the transactions are expected to fetch about Rs 30,000 crore, all of which will be used to reduce RCom’s debt.

rajesh.kurup@thehindu.co.in

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