Deal with DoCoMo won't end Tata Tele's woes

Its prospects as an independent player appear dim as the industry heads for a shakeout

In a statement that received much publicity a few days ago, Tata Sons and NTT DoCoMo announced that the Tata flagship would buy back the Japanese company’s 26.5 per cent stake in Tata Teleservices for $1.2 billion. 

This would end all the pending litigation between the two. Docomo and Tata Sons were sparring over a 2009 contract that made it mandatory for the Tatas to buy back Docomo’s stake in Tata Tele at half the value that Docomo paid.  In 2014, Docomo decided to exit the company and asked Tata Sons to buyback the shares, but Tata Sons did not