Etisalat Buys Into India

In yet another example of the Middle Eastern companies expanding to other emerging markets, telecoms operator Etisalat, based in the UAE, is to acquire a 45% stake in minor Indian mobile operator Swan Telecom. Etisalat will pay US$900mn for the stake, valuing the company at US$2bn. This announcement follows several meetings with Spice Telecom, the country's eighth ranked operator, suggesting that it has abandoned Spice for Swan's higher number of licenses. Swan is licensed to operate in 13 of India's total 22 operating circles and has received radio spectrum in 10 of the circles. This gives it a larger potential

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