MTNL to spin off realty, towers; stock up 8%

Indian state-run telecoms firm, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd (MTNL.BO) (MTE.N), plans to spin off its real estate and mobile towers into a separate arm, the Economic Times reported on Tuesday.

The property and towers are worth more than 60 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) and will help MTNL, which provides telecoms services in New Delhi and Mumbai, raise funds for its expansion by selling the assets or a possible listing, it said.

The newspaper quoted an unnamed MTNL official as saying a final decision would taken by the company's board.

MTNL Chairman R.S.P. Sinha did not offer any comment when contacted by Reuters. ($1=51.4 rupees) (Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

MTNL close to taking over Lanka’s Suntel

In what could be its first acquisition, state-owned telecom firm MTNL is close to buying Sri Lankan fixed-line operator Suntel and has sent a high-level delegation to start technical assessment of the company. A delegation has left for Sri Lanka to hold discussions with Suntel on the technical assessment, which is a prerequisite to formalise the deal, company sources said.

MTNL is believed to have emerged as the highest bidder for Suntel with a bid between $160-180 million. If the deal goes through, this will be the NYSE-listed Indian company’s first acquisition. It will also give MTNL a foothold in Sri Lanka’s fast-growing telecom market.

The Colombo-based company offers fixed-line service on CDMA-based technology’s WLL platform. All its key shareholders want to exit, sources said.Nordic company Telia is Suntel’s top shareholder with 55% stake through its holding firm Overseas Telecom. The remaining stake is held by Sri Lanka’s Metrocorp, the National Development Bank Of Sri Lanka, Townsend of Hong Kong and International Finance Corporation.

(Source: Economic Times)