Aditya Birla Telecom to receive $640 million overseas investment

Mumbai: The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) has approved a proposal by Aditya Birla Telecom Limited, to issue convertible preference shares to P5 Asia Holding Investments (Mauritius) Limited for a total of Rs2,704.21 crore ($640 million approximately), constituting 20 per cent of the share capital of the company, on a fully diluted basis.

This enhances the foreign investment limit in Aditya Birla Telecom Limited to 74 per cent.

Aditya Birla Telecom will act as an `operating cum holding company' and make downstream investments from time to time.

Under the proposal, approved by the CCEA, Aditya Birla Telecom will acquire 19,047 equity shares of Rs10 each, representing 16 per cent of the total paid-up equity share capital of Indus Towers Limited - a company engaged in the provision of passive infrastructure (i.e. towers) in the telecom sector.

Aditya Birla Telecom Limited also holds 50,000 equity shares of Rs10 each representing 100 per cent of the equity share capital of Idea Cellular Towers Infrastructure Limited.

Science and technology minister Kapil Sibal, who briefed newspersons on the outcome of the CCEA decisions, said the approval by the CCEA  is subject to the conditions recommended by the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB).