Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin is to visit India on Thursday to ink a deal with Indian partner Essar on management and organisational issues.Nearly a month after UK-based Vodafone clinched a deal for acquiring Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecom International's controlling stake in HEL, Sarin will tomorrow announce the terms and conditions of the partnership with Ruias-promoted Essar, which holds 33% stake in the JV.The two firms have also agreed to rename Hutch-Essar as Vodafone-Essar, which would start selling its products and services under the Vodafone brand in due course.The partnership would be announced at a joint press conference by Sarin and Ravi Ruia, vice chairman, Essar Group, sources close to the development said. However, it was not confirmed whether the deal would be announced in the national capital or Mumbai, where HEL is headquartered.Under the terms of the partnership believed to have been agreed by the two firms, Vodafone would have operational control of Vodafone Essar and Ruias would have rights, such as board representation, in accordance with their 33% equity.Ravi Ruia is likely to be appointed chairman of Vodafone Essar board, while Sarin would be named vice chairman.Following the completion of HTIL's stake sale, which is expected in the next few weeks, Vodafone would get a controlling stake of 51.57% in the venture, while Essar Group would continue to retain its 33.02%.HTIL's existing Indian partners Asim Ghosh, Analjit Singh and Infrastructure Development Finance Company (IDFC) have agreed to remain minority partners with their collective 15.03% stake.
