The Hindu Business Line : Datacom gets suitors for stake sale

New Delhi, Jan 11 With more than 50 per cent of the applicants for telecom licences failing to get a nod from the Department of Telecom, companies such as Datacom, which received a letter of intent on Thursday, have suddenly become sought after entities.

Electronics major Videocon, which now owns Datacom, has got interest from a number of companies for a stake. Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd, whose applications were rejected by the DoT, is keen to share ownership of Datacom.

Large multinational companies which could not make the cut are also eyeing Datacom.

When contacted Mr Venugopal Dhoot, Chairman, Videocon, said, “A number of players have shown interest in picking up stake in Datacom. We are in talks with large multinational companies for a strategic partnership. We will start GSM-based mobile services by the end of the year, subject to allocation of spectrum and are prepared to make whatever investments are required. Our costs would be reduced significantly since we can hire towers from infrastructure companies.” Mr Dhoot said that Verizon will not be its partner for mobile services.

“Though we have a partnership with Verizon for long distance services, we are in talks with much larger companies for our mobile business,” he added. As per the DoT’s record on November 1, 2007, Jumbo Techno Solutions held 90 per cent stake in Datacom while the balance was with Oswal Fertilizers and Chemicals Ltd.

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