Just a day after the government’s conditional approval of the Vodafone-Idea merger, the heads of the Vodafone Group came to meet the Telecom Minister Manoj Sinha and Secretary Aruna Sundararajan.

The outgoing Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Group, Vittorio Colao, and his successor, Nick Read, along with senior officials met the Minister and the Secretary.

“We are happy that we got the letter and we look forward to a successful integration,” Read told presspersons after the meeting here, adding that the Vodafone Group was focused on the Indian market and would remain invested in India.

However, both the senior officials of the group declined to comment on the time taken for the approval, and when asked, Colao said, “We are always optimistic about India.” Vodafone and Idea have been awaiting regulatory approvals to create the country’s largest telecom company, with a user base of 430 million.

According to the conditional approval, Vodafone has been asked to furnish a bank guarantee of about Rs 6,300 crore as deferred spectrum payment liabilities. Idea Cellular would have to pay a bank guarantee of Rs 3,322 crore as one-time spectrum charges (OTSC) and Rs 3,926 crore in cash for Vodafone spectrum under 4.4 MHz, as acquirer.

Idea will have to pay Rs 3,926 crore, which is the differential between the entry fee paid and the market determined price of 4.4 MHz spectrum assigned to Vodafone Mobile Services in the respective circles. This has to be paid on a pro-rata basis for the remaining part from the date of National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approval for the remaining licences.

All demands relating to the licences of the merging companies should be settled before taking the merger on record, while all disputes and sub-judice demands have to be borne by Idea Cellular.

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