There’s apparently more to Etisalat’s India plans than was initially apparent: the UAEs biggest telco may buy a stake in India co Spice Communications, report Bloomberg and Reuters. The company is also considering setting up its own operations, Chairman Mohammad Hassan Omran wrote in an email.

It’s not possible for Etisalat to set up its own operations alone, since a foreign entity can hold a maximum of 74 percent stake in a telecom company. So it’s either a launch with an Indian partner, or an acquisition: they’re already in talks to buy stake from BK Modi, the chairman of the Spice Group, whose family has 40.8 percent stake in Spice.  Spice appears to be up for grabs - apparently AT&T (NYSE: T) has offered Rs. 110 per share, while Modi wants Rs. 400 per share. Some confusion of his stake, though - the Hindu reports that Etisalat is probably in talks for the 39 percent that Telkom Malaysia holds in Spice, and in that case, the Modi’s have the first right of refusal. Earlier in Jan, Spice was reportedly planning for a Dubai IPO to raise $500 million, which we thought might have been due to concerns around its net-worth, after DoT had denied the co a pan-India license.

Etisalat has recently announced plans for a money transfer to India with operators Tata Communications and Idea Cellular, and had set up a subsidiary called Technologia in Bangalore.

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