Vodafone reserves right to terminate India acquisition
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(InfoWorld) - British mobile services company Vodafone Group has reserved the right to terminate its agreement with Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd. (HTIL), if a "prohibition" comes in the way of the closure of itsÂ $11.1 billion acquisitionÂ of a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar, an Indian mobile services company. In a filing to the Hong Kong stock exchange, HTIL has said that the agreement between Vodafone and HTIL provides for "certain termination rights arising as a result of circumstances tied to the existence of a prohibition." Prohibition shall have the meaning ascribed to such items in the agreement that have the effect of prohibiting or restraining the parties from consummating their transaction, it added. Although it does not specify what kind of prohibitions could arise, a lawsuit or other litigation relating to the merger could be interpreted as such. India's Essar Group, which holds 33 percent of the equity in Hutchison Essar, is said to be unhappy with some of the terms of the deal, particularly Vodafone's plans to take Hutchison Essar into an infrastructure sharing arrangement with Bharti Airtel, another Indian mobile services provider. Essar, which also claims the right to first refusal for HTIL's sale of equity in Hutchison Essar, may also move Indian courts, according to informed sources. HTIL entered into an agreement Sunday to sell to Vodafone subsidiary, Vodafone International Holdings, its entire direct and indirect equity and loan interests, held through subsidiaries, in Hutchison Essar. Vodafone announced that the transaction would give it an economic interest of 67 percent in the Indian company, in exchange for $11.1 billion in cash and assumption of $2 billion in debt. In its filing, HTIL said that the transaction is to be completed on April 2, or the sixth business day after conditions such as approval by India's Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) have been satisfied or waived. HTIL and Vodafone were not immediately available for comment. VodafoneÂ CEO Arun Sarin is in IndiaÂ Wednesday to meet with Indian government officials and also possibly executives of the Essar Group. Vodafone has offered to buy the Essar Group's stake in Hutchison Essar, though Sarin said in a conference call Sunday that he would prefer if they stayed on as partners. Sarin also said Wednesday in Delhi that Essar does not have right of first refusal on the deal.
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British mobile phone group Vodafone announced Tuesday that it slashed net losses last year as its growth strategy in emerging markets such as India and Turkey began to pay off.
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Vodafone says it remains keen on purchases in France, eastern Europe and fast growing Asia and Africa after detailing annual cost cuts
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British mobile-phone giant Vodafone's purchase of a 11.1-billion-dollar stake in India's Hutchison Essar has been welcomed by local contenders, smoothing its entry into the world's fastest-growing wireless market.
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Telecom giant Vodafone has said it will invest more than two billion dollars in a drive to make its new Indian purchase, Hutchison Essar, the country's biggest mobile phone company.
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India's Essar conglomerate has said it would remain a partner in Hutchison Essar after British mobile phone giant Vodafone bought majority control of the Indian cellular company.
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Britain's Vodafone Group PLC has agreed to buy a 67 percent controlling interest in Hutchison Essar Ltd., one of India's leading cell phone companies, for $11.1 billion, Vodafone said in a statement Sunday.
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Vodafone Group Plc plans to hand 6.0 billion pounds ($11.12 billion) back to shareholders this year after doubling half-year and full-year
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Mobile developers around the world are in an uproar over a change Vodafone Group PLC has made in the U.K. that dramatically decreases the quality of their products and that they fear could prevent new and innovative mobile services from reaching the market.
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Vodafone Group Plc  vowed not to pay "over the top" in the multi-billion-pound battle for India's Hutchison Essar on Wednesday, as the British mobile phone giant said it had crossed the 200-million customer mark.
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Vodafone  shares  climbed on Monday after the British mobile phone giant beat  rival suitors with an $11.1 billion bid for a controlling stake  in Hutchison Essar, India's fourth-biggest cellphone firm.
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A deadline for shareholders of the London Stock Exchange to back a hostile takeover of the LSE by US stock exchange operator Nasdaq was set to expire.
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British mobile phone giant Vodafone, grappling with intense competition in Europe, tapped into the booming Indian economy after winning control of Hutchison Essar for 11.1 billion dollars.
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Vodafone said Monday that it remained interested in acquisitions in France, eastern Europe, Asia and Africa as the mobile phone company detailed cost cuts that it expects will reach an annual Â£2.
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Arun Sarin, the chief executive of Vodafone, moved to grab more day-to-day control of the world&#39;s biggest mobile phone company yesterday by announcing a management shake-up which
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HONG KONG/BARCELONA  - Shares in Vodafone are expected to open higher on Monday after it beat rival suitors with an $11.1 billion bid for a controlling stake in Hutchison Essar, India's fourth-biggest mobile phone firm.
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The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Vodafone has given Verizon Wireless the green-light to make a bid to buy Sprint. &quot;Verizon Communications Inc.