Videocon bids to acquire Motorola's mobile handset biz
While Videocon itself is on the prowl, US telecom giant AT&T is eyeing a stake in its subsidiary Datacom. Mobile Asia | Look before you touch I Wacky gadgets
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: Consumer electronics major Videocon Group on Tuesday said it has bid to acquire Motorola Inc's global mobile handset business.
"Yes, we have sent them an expression of interest to acquire their global mobile handset business. It is in the initial stages and will take time but we are the only one from India to do so," Videocon Group Chairman Venugopal Dhoot told media.
He said the company's move to acquire Motorola's mobile phone business was in line with its expanding interest in the mobile telephony business. "We have already got licenses for offering GSM-based mobile services in all 22 circles in India and we see a synergy," Dhoot added.
Asked what could be the value of the deal he said, "It is too early to talk about numbers".
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When contacted, a Motorola India spokesperson declined to confirm the development saying "we do not comment on market speculation".
According to reports, Motorola's non-profitable handset business has been estimated to be worth about 3.8 billion dollars as evaluated by Merrill Lynch.
While Videocon itself is on the prowl, US telecom giant AT&T is eyeing a stake in its subsidiary Datacom, which has been issued a license recently for mobile services throughout India.
However, the deal is expected to take shape only after the government allocates spectrum for wireless telecom services to new players, as a mere license may not fetch a good value.
Datacom is first in the list to get spectrum, except in Delhi and Mumbai, as and when the government starts allocating the radio frequency.
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Datacom has announced an investment of Rs 6,000 crore for a pan-India network expansion in the first phase. It has also been approached by another foreign player Telephonica of Spain. Videocon in the past has been active in acquiring consumer durable firms across different geographies. It had acquired Thompson's colour tube business and AB Electrolux' Indian subsidiary, but failed to acquire Korea's ailing electronics firm Daewoo.
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