Battle for Hutch-Essar escalates as Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin in India

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin arrived in India for The race for India's fourth largest mobile phone company Hutch Essar Ltd. He said his company was interested in buying whatever stake is available in India's mobile service provider Hutch Essar and will put a bid for it in the next few weeks.

He also said he was also open to partner with Essar, which has 33 per cent stake in Hutch Essar and described Ruias as "good partners".

Sarin held talks with the Commerce minister Kamal Nath and Finance Minister P Chidambaram. During the meeting with Chidambaram, Sarin is understood to have discussed the British company's future plans in India, sources said.

Essar vice-chairman Ravi Ruia also held talks with Chidambaram. Essar group chairman Shashi Ruia had earlier this week said they were interested to buyout Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom's 67 per cent stake from the joint venture.

Vodafone has already started the due diligence of HEL, while bankers of Essar, which has 33 per cent stake in the joint venture company, are likely to initiate a similar process in a day or two.

Ahead of his scheduled meeting with Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin, who is bidding for Hutch-Essar, Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Wednesday said the government wanted good companies to enter the country.

Meanwhile, the board of Reliance Communications, a serious contender for Hutch-Essar, authorised its chairman Anil Ambani to pursue the acquisition, including raising long-term resources for the deal.

Hutchison Telecom is expected to complete the sale of its 67 per cent stake in the country's fourth largest telecom company, Hutchison Essar, before the Chinese New Year holiday, which begins February 17.

Hutchison Telecom had asked the interested companies to table their bids towards the end of this month before its board meeting, said one of the bidders.

Hutchison Telecom is believed to have set a floor price of $14 billion for its stake, but competition among the bidders is expected to raise the price.

While Vodafone will submit an independent bid, Reliance Communications, the Ruias and the Hindujas are expected to team up with financial institutions.