Anil Ambani-owned Reliance Communications said it had decided to extend its talks with Aircel Cellular owned by Malaysia’s Maxis group.
It said “based on the good progress made so far, it has extended the exclusivity period with Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) and Sindya Securities and Investments Private Limited, the shareholders of Aircel Ltd, by 60 days to May 22, 2016.”
The parties are discussing a merger of the wireless operations, potentially creating the second biggest mobile operator in India by subscriber numbers.
The merger will yield substantial benefits of in-country consolidation, including opex and capex synergies and revenue enhancement, the company said.
The discussions are non-binding in nature. Any transaction is subject to completion of due diligence, definitive documentation and regulatory, shareholders’ and other third party approvals. Hence, there is no certainty that any transaction will resul, it added.