DoT nod for Vodafone-Idea merger likely this month

New Delhi: The telecom department is likely to approve the merger between Idea Cellular and Vodafone India within this month, a senior official said, which will pave the way for creating the largest carrier in India by subscribers and revenue market share. “The final approval should come within this month,” the official said, asking not to be named.

India’s No. 2 and No. 3 carriers, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular, are merging their operations in India to create an entity that will be equally owned by UK’s Vodafone Group and India’s diversified Aditya Birla Group.

The merged entity will have over 410 million customers, nearly 42% customer market share (CMS) and nearly 37% revenue market share (RMS), leaving it stronger placed to take on competitive pressures triggered by Jio, with 160 million subscribers and over 16% CMS and 15.3% RMS. Airtel has a CMS of 29.5% and an RMS of 31.5%. The merger has been approved by NCLT, Sebi and CCI.