Airtel, RCom, Tatas in race to acquire 51% stake in Telkom Kenya

Three Indian companies "� Bharti Airtel, Reliance Communications and Tata Holding "� are in the race to acquire a 51 per cent stake in Kenya's state-owned landline service provider, Telkom Kenya. The Kenyan government is looking at offloading the stake in an attempt to privatise the loss-making company.

Telkom Kenya has a monopoly on landline services in the country. If an Indian company wins the bid, it will enable the company to enter the country's telecom market, according to news reports in international press.

A Bharti Airtel spokesperson said, "Being the market leader, we are always looking at opportunities to grow and expand our operations. However, we do not want to comment on individual opportunities."

Spokespersons of Tatas and Reliance Communications declined to comment.

The Tatas will be looking at entering the country through its arm, Tata Africa, while other Indian companies are required to set up subsidiaries for their African foray.

Apart from Indian companies, global majors such as British Telecom and VTel Holding of Dubai have also evinced interest in acquiring the majority stake in the company.

Earlier, the Kenyan government had wanted to divest 26 per cent stake in Telkom Kenya, which was later increased to 51 per cent.

The company has invited bids to be evaluated between October 30 and November 6.

The names of the technically qualified bidders will be announced on November 6, and the financial proposals on November 8.