No takers yet in Reliance's "FLAG sale"
02-02-2010
Maybe the recession still bites, or maybe the $3 billion asking price is too high.
More than a month after reportedly putting its biggest global assets up for sale, India's Reliance Communications has found few takers for a package that includes its prized FLAG undersea cable network.
Maybe the recession still bites, or maybe the asking price is too high. Sources close to the deal told an Economic Times reporter that Reliance had extended an initial deadline of late-January for submissions, but had still attracted little interest for the deal seeking $3 billion.
The sources said complaints surrounding the deal, being shopped by Deutsche Bank, included a dearth of financial information, concerns about debt and over-abundance of the kinds of assets and services being offered.
Reliance previously denied it was trying to sell the assets, and had no immediate comment on any recent developments. Sources and documents obtained by Reuters show that the assets are up for sale.
Three of the main assets in the package are FLAG, an undersea cable network operator Reliance bought for $207 million in 2003; Yipes, a California-based ethernet service provider purchased in $300 million in 2007; and Vanco, a British telecoms services provider purchased for $77 million in 2008.
Information source: Economic Times
More than a month after reportedly putting its biggest global assets up for sale, India's Reliance Communications has found few takers for a package that includes its prized FLAG undersea cable network.
Maybe the recession still bites, or maybe the asking price is too high. Sources close to the deal told an Economic Times reporter that Reliance had extended an initial deadline of late-January for submissions, but had still attracted little interest for the deal seeking $3 billion.
The sources said complaints surrounding the deal, being shopped by Deutsche Bank, included a dearth of financial information, concerns about debt and over-abundance of the kinds of assets and services being offered.
Reliance previously denied it was trying to sell the assets, and had no immediate comment on any recent developments. Sources and documents obtained by Reuters show that the assets are up for sale.
Three of the main assets in the package are FLAG, an undersea cable network operator Reliance bought for $207 million in 2003; Yipes, a California-based ethernet service provider purchased in $300 million in 2007; and Vanco, a British telecoms services provider purchased for $77 million in 2008.
Information source: Economic Times
