Telenor, the Nordic region's biggest phone operator, is in talks with Tata Teleservices to combine their operations in India, three people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Japan's NTT DoCoMo, which owns a 26 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices, is likely to remain a shareholder in the merged entity, said one person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Any deal will depend on new takeover rules currently being considered by India's telecom regulator, the people said.
The combination would create India's fourth-largest operator by users, while Tata Teleservices would gain airwaves it can use to boost offerings in the world's second-largest wireless market as it shifts customers to the Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, technology.
"Telenor Group never comments on rumours or speculation," Telenor spokesman Glenn Mandelid wrote in an e-mail. Suroor Hussain, a spokeswoman for Tata Teleservices, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. "We are going to maintain our stake for the time being, said Junpei Toya, a spokesman for NTT DoCoMo, by telephone.
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Japan's NTT DoCoMo, which owns a 26 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices, is likely to remain a shareholder in the merged entity, said one person, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. Any deal will depend on new takeover rules currently being considered by India's telecom regulator, the people said.
The combination would create India's fourth-largest operator by users, while Tata Teleservices would gain airwaves it can use to boost offerings in the world's second-largest wireless market as it shifts customers to the Global System for Mobile Communications, or GSM, technology.
"Telenor Group never comments on rumours or speculation," Telenor spokesman Glenn Mandelid wrote in an e-mail. Suroor Hussain, a spokeswoman for Tata Teleservices, didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. "We are going to maintain our stake for the time being, said Junpei Toya, a spokesman for NTT DoCoMo, by telephone.
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