TCIL seeks investment bankers' advice on Hexacom exit

Indian government-run telecom consultancy TCIL will, in about a week, start inviting investment bankers to advise it on sale of 30 per cent stake in Bharti-Hexacom, which offers phone services in Rajasthan.     

The proposal to exit Bharti-Hexacom, a joint venture between Bharti Airtel and TCIL, was cleared by the government in August citing issues related to non-payment of dividend.     

"No dividend (has been paid so far by Bharti)...TCIL has been asking for it consistently," its Chairman and Managing Director Rakesh K Upadhyay said, adding that a tender will be floated inviting investment bankers to do evaluation.     

TCIL's investment in the JV company is in excess of Rs 100 crore, but Bharti has not paid any dividend saying that the company was ploughing back revenues into the company for its expansion.     

Asked whether he has spoken to any international players to sell the stake, Upadhyay said: "I would not like to comment on this. It's too premature to comment."     

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had cleared sale of TCIL's stake on the condition that it should be done at the right time to obtain the best price.     

The proceeds from TCIL's stake sale in Bharti-Hexacom is expected to be used for expansion and diversification of the consultancy firm's operations.