Idea acquires 28 cr shares of Spice in block deal on BSE

MUMBAI: Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular on Monday acquired as many as 28.15 crore shares of Spice Communications at Rs 77.30 each aggregating to Rs 2,175.91 crore in a block deal on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Idea Cellular bought 28,14,89,313 shares at a traded price of Rs 77.30 of Spice Communications, as per data available on the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Earlier on June 25, Idea Cellular, the fifth-largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers, said it would acquire 40.8 per cent stake in B K Modi-owned Spice group for Rs 2,716 crore.

The Aditya Birla group firm has also made an open offer to the shareholders of Spice Communications for acquiring additional 20 per cent stake in the telecom services provider for about Rs 1,066.63 crore.

The open offer would start on August 22, and would close on September 11.

The Idea-Spice deal would catapult Idea Cellular's market share to 11.1 per cent and more importantly would get the crucial spectrum on 900 Mhz band. The long-drawn acquisition would give Idea straightaway two existing circles of Punjab and Karnataka with a subscriber base of 4.4 million.

Idea shares closed at Rs 88.40, up 0.06 per cent, while Spice Communication was quoted up 0.48 per cent at Rs 73.30.