Reliance Communications and the shareholders of Aircel Cellular said they expect to be able to “shortly” sign an agreement for the merger of the latter’s wireless operations into the Anil Ambani company.
“Maxis Communications Berhad and Sindya Securities and Investments Private Ltd expect to sign binding definitive documentation and announce the proposed Transaction for the combination of the Indian wireless business of RCOM and Aircel very shortly,” RCom said in a statement.
The move would create the second biggest telecom company in India by subscribers, after Bharti Airtel.
In terms of revenue, the new company would be behind Idea Cellular and Vodafone India.
It is expected that the new entity will convert Aircel’s 2G spectrum into 4G spectrum. RCom has already converted its CDMA spectrum into liberalized LTE spectrum.
It is currently in the middle of launching its new 4G network. The extra spectrum from Aircel will make RCom the third biggest holder of 4G airwaves in India, leaving behind Idea Cellular and Vodafone India.