Vodafone will acquire, through its wholly-owned subsidiaries, an economic interest of 10% in Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited (BTVL) for a cash consideration equivalent to Rs.66.56 billion (GBP 0.82 billion or US$1.5 billion). The purchase price represents a 7.4% premium to the 5-day average share price of BTVL on 27 October 2005.
BTVL is the leading national mobile operator in India, with 14.1 million mobile customers as of 30-Sept-2005, equivalent to a 21.8% customer market share.
Vodafone said the deal provides it with a means to expand its footprint into India, which ranks as the 3rd largest mobile market in Asia with 65.1 million customers currently, after China and Japan where Vodafone is already present . India’s mobile and fixed line penetration is currently at approximately 6.0% and 4.4%, respectively.
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