Whether Rajeev Chandrasekhar wins or not, Thiruvananthapuram will likely never see such an interesting contest again.
After the $11.1 billion winning bid by Vodafone for Hutchison, the spotlight now shifts to the Ruia-owned BPL Mobile Communications.
Cellular service provider BPL Mobile Communications Ltd launched a new pre-paid calling card, an extension of its existing Mobile on the Spot.
This follows the expiry of its brand-use agreement with the BPL Group. The company, which faces an ownership battle between the Ruias of the Essar Group and the UK-based Vodafone, does not expect 'any issues' to arise from the change. "Loop is an extension of an ongoing campaign, Get in the Loop, and it will be easy for our subscribers to identify with this new brand name," said BPL Mobile Director and CEO Sanjeev Chachondia.
The Ruias and other promoters own a 99.99 per cent stake through various companies in BPL Mobile Communications. They have already toned it down to 82.4 per cent, sources close to the development said. Now, the group is looking at further bringing it down to less than 70 per cent. This will make BPL Mobile Communications a shell company and diminish its values making its shares 'worthless,' says Vodafone.
The termination of the agreement for Mumbai does not affect the other three circles, for which a merger with Hutchison Essar has already been done.
The spat between Essar and Hutchison for the acquisition of BPL (Mumbai) circle is far from over with the Indian corporate maintaining that the Department of Telecom approval for acquisition of BPL shares is yet to come.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances