Reliance Industries said to weigh bid for T-Mobile Netherlands: Report
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries is bidding for a Netherlands subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.
Indian conglomerate T-Mobile is working with a consultant to evaluate a proposal for the Netherlands, sources said, asking not to be identified as the information is confidential. Deutsche Telekom is seeking about 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) in any sales, the people said.
The report said that while discussions are on, no final decision has been taken and there is no certainty that Reliance will decide to go ahead with the formal offer, according to the people.
Deutsche Telekom declined to comment. A Reliance representative could not immediately comment.
Deutsche Telekom is working with Morgan Stanley on the sale of the business, which has attracted interest from private equity firms including Apex Partners, Apollo Global, Providence Equity and Warburg Pincus, Bloomberg reported last month.
Buyout firms are drawn to such assets because they can gain control of the underlying infrastructure, which provides stable long-term returns.
In May, Dutch telecommunications conglomerate Royal KPN NV said it had rejected an “unwanted high-level approach” from investment firms EQT AB and StonePeak Infrastructure Partners.
Reliance is India’s largest company by market value, with businesses in the oil refining, petrochemicals, retail and telecommunications sectors.
The report said a deal for T-Mobile Netherlands would represent a rare buy in Europe and that Mukesh Ambani would seek to transform Reliance from an old economy conglomerate into a technology and e-commerce titan.
Ambani had earlier said he wanted to eventually expand Reliance’s digital arm – Jio Platforms – overseas, and last year it secured over $20 billion in backing from investors including Facebook.
Kranti Bathini, a strategist at Wealthmills Securities, a Mumbai-based consultancy, said, “For Jio to take advantage of the natural synergy, apart from it, it could be a step forward in that direction.”
“This could also serve as the start of aggressive acquisitions in this space and deployment of funds across different geographies after Jio Platforms raised record funds last year,” Bathini said.
Reliance’s shares have gained 5.2 per cent this year, giving its market value of 13.7 trillion rupees ($184 billion). The stock rose as much as 1.7 percent on Tuesday, before giving up some of these gains.
Deutsche Telekom entered the Dutch mobile-phone market in 2000, securing a stake in a venture with Belgacom SA and Tele Denmark. The business name was changed to T-Mobile Netherlands in 2003 after the remainder was purchased by the German carrier.
Read more: SC holds Singapore’s EA award against implementation of Future-Reliance retail deal
.