Idea Cellular, Vodafone India announce merger

New Delhi: In one of the biggest merger in the telecom space, Vodafone India and Aditya Birla Group-promoted Idea Cellular on Monday announced the much-awaited amalgamation. Idea Cellular in a regulatory filing on Monday said, its Board of Directors "have approved the scheme of amalgamation of Vodafone India Limited and its wholly owned subsidiary Vodafone Mobile Service Limited with the company (Idea)." Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent of the combined company, Idea said in a statement. "The Aditya Birla Group will then own 26 per cent and has the right to acquire more shares from Vodafone under an agreed mechanism with a view to equalising the shareholdings over time," it added. "For Idea shareholders and lenders who have supported us thus far, this transaction is highly accretive, and Idea and Vodafone will together create a very valuable company given our complementary strength," said Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman, Aditya Birla Group. "The combination of Vodafone India and Idea will create a new champion of Digital India founded with a long-term commitment and vision to bring world-class 4G networks to villages, towns and cities across India," said Vittorio Colao, Chief Executive, Vodafone Group Plc. "The combined company will have the scale required to ensue sustainable consumer choice in a competitive market and to expand new technologies - such as mobile money services - that have the potential to transform daily life of every Indian," he added.