VCCircle

There is a new twist to the Hutch tale. The Economic Times reports that buyout fund KKR is in talks with Anil Ambani's Reliance Communications (RELCOM) to buy out Hutch's wireless assets in India. The Wall Street Journal had earlier reported that buyout funds like Blackstone, Texas Pacific Group, and also Indian telco RELCOM were in talks to buy the Hutch stake in Indian telco Hutchison Essar, India's third-largest GSM operator with a subscriber base of 16 million.

“It is very preliminary as of now. There are a number of unknowns in a transaction of this type,” ET quotes an investment banking source. Hutchison seems to be planning to exit Indian market since it's not sharing a great relationship with its Indian partner Essar. Also, Hutch can cash out at a price of $8 billion for its two-third stake in Hutchison Essar. The Indian partner Essar owns 33 per cent stake.

The report also says that Texas Pacific Group and Malaysia's Maxis had made a bid last week for 100 per cent of Hutchison-Essar at an enterprise value of $13.5 billion. The bidders approached Canning Fok, chairman of Hutchison Telecom International, the parent of Hutchison Essar, who was in India on a brief visit, says ET. The bid was believed to be turned down.

There is definitely something cooking up.

Related:

Blackstone, Texas Pacific, Reliance Com May Consider Acquiring Hutch Assets In India: WSJ

Hutch To Exit India? Will Essar-PE Firm Combine Buy Them Out?