The Hindu Business Line : Hindujas to conduct Hutch due diligence on Feb 5, 6

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New Delhi Jan. 30 The Hinduja Group is all set to carry out due diligence on Hutchison Essar on February 5 and 6 before putting in its bid to acquire the cellular company.

Mr Prabal Banerjee, President and CFO, Hinduja Group, told Business Line, "We have decided to conduct the due diligence on February 5 and 6 after which we will make a formal offer."

The Hutchison Telecommunication International board met on Monday to discuss the various options for exiting the Indian mobile venture.

So far six companies have expressed interest in acquiring Hutchison Essar including Vodafone, Reliance Communications, Maxis, Orascom and Essar.

Of these, only the Ruias promoted Essar has made a financial bid until now, while Vodafone has finished due diligence.

Sources in Reliance Communications said that they have also completed due diligence though no formal announcement was made by the company. Orascom has said that they were open to increasing their stake in Hutchison Essar at the right price.

The Hindujas had earlier sold their stake in Hutchison Essar but were now looking to make a comeback in the telecom space.

The company is also in the running for picking up a stake in Telecom Italia.

The Hindujas had earlier said that they have had good relationships with both Essar and Hutchison and therefore it would be easier for them to conclude the deal.

Hindujas had also said that it was open to partnering any company as long as the group gets at least 51 per cent stake.

Meanwhile, Vodafone said that it would make its bid over the next few weeks' time. Hutchison Essar has generated a lot of interest in the past few weeks with valuations touching $20 billion making many analysts and investors wary of an overpriced deal.

Hutch has already made it clear that it would not consider any bids that are lower than $14 billion.

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