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Vodafone to make Hutch an offer soon
Published on Fri, Dec 22, 2006 at 14:51, Updated on Fri, Dec 22, 2006 at 15:10 in 
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New Delhi: The bid war for Hutchison Essar - India's fourth largest mobile player - is hotting up, with Reliance keeping its plans on hold till British telecom giant Vodafone reveals its strategy.
Vodafone had on Friday said that it was considering acquiring a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar because the board believes that the mobile market in India has "great potential".
Vodafone's Board of Directors has mandated chief executive Arun Sarin to pursue a cash offer for India's fourth-largest mobile firm Hutchison Essar, a British media report said.
Hutchison officials too admitted that they had been approached by Vodafone for a takeover bid.
According to the UK daily Guardian, Vodafone is ready to make an offer of $13.5 billion to Hutchison.
The newspaper also said that Reliance has teamed up with a US private equity house, Blackstone, and may up the offer to $15 billion.
Despite the reports, Anil Ambani controlled Reliance Communications is keeping its cards close to its chest and is not confirming or denying the reports.
According to another British daily, Daily Telegraph, any bid is believed to be dependent on whether Vodafone manages to convince Bharti Airtel (India's largest mobile operator where Vodafone already has 10 per cent stake) to waive a one-year non-compete clause.
The 10 per cent stake is worth £1.4 billion. The daily added that Vodafone has been trying to get an agreement in principle from Bharti Airtel's larger shareholders to drop the clause for a penalty fee.
Besides Vodafone and Reliance, Malaysia's Maxis is also reportedly interested in acquiring Hong Kong-based Hutchison Essar.
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