New Delhi: Bidders eyeing stakes in telecom giant Hutch Essar can in no way ignore the venture's Indian partner Ruias, who hold nothing less than a magic wand by way of 'special' rights along with their 33 per cent stake.
Two of the front-runners, UK's Vodafone and Hinduja Group, have been seeking support of Essar to gain control over the country's fourth largest mobile operator.
Reliance Communications (RCoM), chief Anil Ambani, is perhaps the only suitor that is yet to show interest in partnering Essar - probably due to regulatory restrictions. While Vodafone's India-born CEO Arun Sarin was seen courting Essar last week, terming Ruias as 'natural partners', the Hindujas said their willingness to acquire stake in Hutch-Essar stems from their "cordial" relations in the past.
Even Max India Chairman Analjit Singh, who owns 8.75 per cent stake in Hutch-Essar, has favoured a tie-up between Vodafone and Essar, saying it was the best option. "My position is very clear. I want Essar and Vodafone to come together," Singh told media.
Though Vodafone had nothing but sweet words for Essar, international media is abuzz with speculation that the Indian partner in Hutch-Essar may spoil the party for the UK telephony giant by putting in a higher bid or dragging the issue to court by virtue of their 'special rights'.
Essar seems determined to use its "contractual rights" to match Vodafone's bid whenever it comes up, the Wall Street Journal has reported. British daily Financial Times has also reported quoting unnamed sources that Vodafone could be forced to raise its offer to prevent Essar from exercising "blocking tactics" over a deal.
Essar is bent on matching Vodafone's offer and exercise its claimed Right of First Refusal (RoFR) over two-third of the company owned by its foreign partner, unless it could be dissuaded by a sharply higher offer from Vodafone, FT said.
With PTI inputs
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