Power major Bombay Suburban Electrical Supply (BSES) is picking up a 30 per cent stake in Himachal Futuristic Communications Ltd's (HFCL) Haryana basic telecom project, financial institution sources said.
However, it is not clear which of the group's companies, including BSES Telecom, will pick up the stake.
HFCL Bezeq Telecom Ltd holds the letter of intent to operate basic telecom services in Haryana circle. However, the department of telecom is yet to issue HFCL a licence to start services in Haryana.
More From This Section
When contacted, a senior BSES executive refused to elaborate: "We have an interest in telecom, including providing basic telecom services and fibre optics. We are evaluating several proposals." HFCL officials in Delhi could not be reached for comment.
HFCL will hold 30 per cent in HBTL. The operating partner, which is yet to be finalised, will hold 15 per cent, while the remaining 25 per cent will be held by other investors. Three companies _ Bezeq, GTE and Altel (both of the US) _ are in the fray for becoming its operating partner.
HBTL _ a joint venture between HFCL, Bezeq Telecom of Israel, Shinawatra of Thailand and Kotak Mahindra _ was the highest bidder in nine basic telecom circles after it bid nearly Rs 86,000 crore in 1995. However, after DoT announced a cap on the number of circles a company could hold licences in, HBTL settled for four.
BSES is expected to invest Rs 168 crore in the project. Though the company had evinced interest in telecom two years back, nothing materialised as most circles had found bidders. It had put its plans on the backburner, intending to enter later as investors.
HBTL will have an equity share capital of Rs 560 crore. The licence fee will be about Rs 4,000 crore. The initial project cost has been estimated at Rs 1,200 crore. Around Rs 550 crore will be pumped in as equity and Rs 650 crore will be debt.
However, it is not yet certain whether HBTL will get to operate the Haryana licence. The Delhi High Court last year had ruled in its favour after it challenged a DoT move to encash its Rs 105-crore bank guarantees for Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (West) and Orissa.
The department has not filed an appeal against the order yet, nor has it decided to accede to a HBTL proposal that it be allowed to operationalise just the Haryana circle.