NTT DoCoMo may invest $1 billion Tata Teleservices and hike stake: report

NTT DoCoMo Inc, Japan's biggest mobile phone operator, may invest an additional $1 billion in Tata Teleservices to raise its stake from the current 26 per cent to as much as 40 per cent, The Economic Times reported today.

Citing two people familiar with the deal, the report said that while both companies are still in negotiations, the transaction will still take a few months to close.

But not all the $1 billion will be infused into Tata Teleservices as Tata Group companies could probably sell part of their holding, added the paper.

NTT DoCoMo had acquired a 26-per cent stake in Tata Teleservices for $2.7 billion in November 2008 in order to get a foothold in the world's fastest-growing major mobile market. (See: DoCoMo to buy 26 per cent in Tata Tele for $2.7 billion)