AT&T eyes stake in India’s BSNL?
By Dusan Belic on Thursday, September 3rd, 2009 at 1:19 AM PST In AT&T
It seems AT&T (NYSE: T) is looking to yet again enter the ever-growing mobile market of India. Apparently, the U.S. carrier has expressed interest to take stake in BSNL, and “sources in the know” (whatever that means) said a pre-IPO placement might be a possibility.
A person familiar with the discussions said that the government is unlikely to sell a majority stake in BSNL, which is already undergoing restructuring. “If at all there is a sale to a foreign operator, it will not be more than 26%, considering the sensitivity of the sector,” said this person.
BSNL is present in 21 circles and has already received 3G spectrum from the government. As for AT&T’s previous endeavors in India, they’ve (foolishly?) quit Indian mobile space in 2005, selling its 33% stake in Idea Cellular after a merger with Cingular Wireless. It received around $250 million from the stake in Idea, which is now valued at nearly $3.5 billion. Smart move, huh?
[Via: The Economic Times]
