Videocon Not To Tie Up With Verizon For Mobile; Subsidiary Datacom Pays License Fees
By Nikhil Pahwa - Wed 16 Jan 2008 02:17 AM PST
This is interesting: Verizon (NYSE: VZ) is not Videocon’s partner for mobile services in India, Videocon Chairman Venugopal Dhoot has told Sify. Dhoot says though they have a partnership with Verizon for long distance (the joint venture was granted licenses recently), “we are in talks with much larger companies for our mobile business”
Videocon has apparently acquired Datacom, which until November 1st last year, was owned by Jumbo Techo Solutions (90 percent) and Oswal Fertilizers and Chemicals (10 percent). It’s important to note here that Datacom was among the few companies given a letter of intent. There were reports of BSE listed Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd looking to pick up stake in Datacom and/or tie up with Videocon, but with the letter of intent, the valuation must have jumped up drastically. I just checked the BSE announcements,and it appears that Datacom has paid Rs. 1506 crores to the Department of Telecommunications, and furnished a bank guarantee of Rs. 847 crores. That means they’re in the queue for being granted a license, and the spectrum that comes with it. Couldn’t find any info on the acquisition of Datacom, though in the announcements.
