Ruias may stay invested

The Ruias are veering round to the view of not selling their 33 per cent equity stake in Hutchison-Essar Ltd.

The Essar family holds the key to the completion of Vodafone's acquisition of 52 per cent equity in Hutchison-Essar at an enterprise value of $18.8 billion.

Sources say the Ruias, who are expected to meet Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin tomorrow, have several issues to take up.

First, they will seek a shareholders' agreement that incorporates their powers (as a joint venture partner with substantial equity) and ensures protection for minority shareholders.

They will also want to know Vodafone's investment plans and how it intends to create more value for shareholders.

Second, the Ruias say they plan to make it clear to Sarin that their interpretation of the agreement with Hutchison gives them the right of first refusal (ROFR), and leaves open the legal recourse in case of its infringement.

Contrary to Sarin's understanding, the Ruias say, the ROFR is also applicable to Hutchison's sale of its stake to a multinational and not only had it sold to an Indian telecom major.

The Ruias have also applied for licences to operate national and international long distance services and would like to leverage their position as a JV partner in Hutch-Essar for this business.

This could become a bone of contention between the Ruias and Vodafone, given the British company's announcement yesterday that it had committed a large part of this business to Bharti Airtel under a memorandum of understanding.