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Our Bureau

MR ANALJIT SINGH .

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New Delhi Feb. 12 With Vodafone emerging as the top bidder in the sale of Hutchison Essar, minority shareholder Mr Analjit Singh, Chairman of Max Group, said on Monday that he would continue to be a shareholder post the acquisition. "I will only be migrating my stake from one to the other," he said.

Vodafone has offered Essar to be its Indian partner, which is in the process of evaluating the offer. On whether the Max Group chief would be ready to up his stake in the company to be an Indian partner of Vodafone if Essar decided to exit, Mr Singh said that right now he did not have the right to increase his stake as additional shares were not on offer unless an existing stakeholder exited.

According to analysts, the additional shares could come from the Essar stable, which has broadly three options before them: to partner Vodafone, to exit the company or keep some stake and offload some. "They have around 21 days to decide what they want to do. My decision will depend on their approach and the deal I'm offered," he said, adding that Vodafone winning the bid was "excellent" for customers as it is a world-class company and the country would benefit.

Industry watchers see Mr Singh in a unique position in the company. Besides being its founder, he is also an independent director with voting rights. He is also familiar with the telecom business and acquainted with all the parties involved in the deal.

More Stories on : Mergers & Acquisitions | Telecommunications

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