Shares of Idea Cellular increased as Vodafone on Monday confirmed that it is in talks to merge its Indian operations with contemporary Idea Cellular in an all-share deal. The motif of the deal is to counter the surging competition in the telecom market.
As per Reuters, Vodafone said it was in talks with Idea’s parent company, conglomerate Aditya Birla. It said any merger would involve Idea issuing new shares to Vodafone and would result in Vodafone deconsolidation of Vodafone India. Idea Cellular shares were up 27.19 per cent at Rs 98.95 on the BSE. On the NSE, the stock zoomed 27.18 per cent to Rs 99.20. The stock headed for a seventh consecutive session of gains, its longest rally since a 10-session winning run in January 2015. As per speculations, if both the companies merge, they will be the largest provider of telecom services, revenue and subscriber wise, beating Bharti Airtel.
