Vodafone India has appointed Manish Dawar as Chief Financial Officer, replacing Thomas Reisten whose four-year term has ended. The appointment gains importance as Dawar, who was previously the Group CFO with Den Networks, is in all probabilities would be the first CFO of the company after merger too.

Dawar’s appointment is as per the merger agreement between Vodafone and Idea. According to the merger proposal, Vodafone has the right to appoint a CFO of the merged entity.

While Vodafone did not comment on future developments, it confirmed the appointment of Dawar in a release.

Dawar’s appointment is effective January 1. Based in Mumbai, he will report to Vodafone India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Sunil Sood.

Reisten, who has completed a four-year term, is expected to get another senior posting within the parent group, the company said in a statement.

Earlier this year, Vodafone India and Idea Cellular agreed to merge their businesses to create the country’s largest telecom operator worth more than $23 billion. The company was also slated to hold a 35 per cent market share.

Post the completion of the deal, Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent stake in the company, while Aditya Birla group, Idea’s parent, 26 per cent after paying ₹3,874 crore for a 4.9 per cent stake. The remaining 28.9 per cent will be held by other shareholders.

According to agreement, Kumar Mangalam Birla would be the Chairman of the merged entity. Other top position in the company were to be decided on merit.

The merger of Vodafone India with telecom peer Idea Cellular is inching towards a closure, with the companies awaiting a couple of regulatory approvals. The companies are awaiting approvals from the National Company Law Tribunal and the Department of Telecommunications.

Earlier in October, Sunil Sood told BusinessLine that most of the approvals for the merger were in place. He, however, had declined to comment on the timeline.

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