Tata Tele looks abroad for strategic tie-up

In talks with 5 foreign firms.

The Tata group is in talks with five foreign companies for inducting a strategic partner in CDMA mobile telephone services provider, Tata Teleservices Ltd (TTL).

The strategic partner will be the one that will add value to TTL's international operations, or bring in expertise in management of mass customer base or technology for providing value-added services on mobile handsets, said Kishor Chaukar, managing director of Tata Industries.

"On provision of value-added services on handsets, the group is considering whether to have a strategic partner or just buy the technology that it has," Chaukar said.

The Tata group had several offers from potential strategic partners, but it was not comfortable with the extent of equity stakes the companies had offered to buy.

"We had a offer to buy a miniscule 2-3 per cent stake. We also had some offers for 26 per cent and 49 per cent," he said.

Tata sources said the group is open to a strategic partner holding 15-20 per cent stake in TTL.

Various Tata group companies, including Tata Sons and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, hold stakes in the unlisted TTL.

TTL provides CDMA mobile telephony services in 20 circles under the brand, Tata Indicom. Its telephony services include mobile services, FWP (fixed wireless phones), public booth telephony and wireline services.

Among the company's value-added services are voice portal, roaming, post-paid internet services, three-way conferencing, group calling, wi-fi internet services and data services.