Deferred Again: Vodafone’s Acquisition Of Hutch Essar Faces Opposition

Vodafone’s buyout of Hutchison Essar is still facing opposition: Reuters reports that, for the second time, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) has deferred a decision on the deal Vodafone’s acquisition of Hutchison Essar, and sought more details. The issue is of whether foreign investment in Hutchison Essar will exceed the 74 percent Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit. The FIPB meeting had presentations from Hutch Essar MD Asim Ghosh, a Vodafone team led by Director (External) Mathew Kirk and a law firm representing Hutchison Telecom International Ltd (HTIL). The FIPB has asked for documents pertaining to loan agreements between HTIL, Ghosh and Max Chairman Analjit Singh. The Reserve Bank of India is yet to submit its report on the deal.
Meanwhile, Member of Parliament and former BPL Chairman Rajeev Chandrasekhar has written to the Prime Minister, asking for an investigation into the deal, suggesting that “complex multi-layered financing transactions that circumvent the spirit of sectoral caps.” More at Business Standard.
Related:
— <a href="http://www.contentsutra.com/entry/419-vodafones-acquisition-of-hutch-deferred-deal-under-fdi-fema-scanner/&quot; title="Vodafone

loading

Comments have been disabled for this post