Reliance Communications gains

Reliance Communications rose 4.16% to Rs 175.15 at 15:29 IST after Abu Dhabi-based Etisalat said it was studying options in India, including a deal with Reliance Communications.

Meanwhile, the BSE Sensex was down down 345.03 points, or 2.02%, to 16,772.66.

On BSE, a huge 1.07 crore shares were traded in the counter as against an average daily volume of 13.55 lakh shares in the past one quarter.



The stock hit a high of Rs 179 and a low of Rs 165 so far during the day. The stock had hit a 52-week high of Rs 359 on 11 June 2009 and a 52-week low of Rs 131.80 on 21 May 2010.

The stock had outperformed the market over the past one month till 4 June 2010, gaining 3.89% compared with the Sensex's 0.11% decline. It outperformed the market in past one quarter, gaining 2.44% as against 0.86% rise in the Sensex.

India's second largest listed telecom operator by sales has an equity capital of Rs 1032.01 crore. Face value per share is Rs 5.

Etisalat's chairman Mohammad Omran was quoted by the media as saying today, 7 June 2010, that Etisalat did not make any offer to Reliance Communications (RCom). The company is studying several opportunities in India and RCom is among them. Etisalat had said last week it was looking to buy a stake in an Indian operator and was in talks with several firms.

RCom had said on Wednesday, 2 June 2010, it had received proposals from international telecom firms to buy a strategic equity stake after a newspaper report said Etisalat was eyeing a 25% for Rs 18,000 crore, implying a sharp premium. The RCom stock had soared 11.02% after the announcement on that day on heavy volumes.

According to reports, RCom is looking for strategic foreign investor to raise funds to finance its foray into 3G mobile and wireless broadband access. The auction of 3G spectrum ended on 19 May 2010. RCom paid Rs 8,583 crore for 13 of the 22 telecom zones on offer.

On Sunday, 6 June 2010, RCom's board gave in-principle approval for induction of strategic/private equity investors into the company through sale of up to 26% stake. RCom also said that its board had approved pursuing other appropriate strategic consolidation opportunities.

The RCom stock had spurted 14% last week, boosted by media reports that the company was considering a merger with South Africa's MTN Group, with which the Indian firm had initiated tie-up talks in 2008 in an ultimately thwarted deal. However, the MTN Group said on Thursday, 3 June 2010, it was not in talks with RCom for a tie-up. Even after MTN's clarification, the RCom stock had risen 2.25% to settle at Rs 168.15 on Friday, 4 June 2010.

The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani group (ADAG) owns a majority 67.58% equity in RCom. The rest is held by public and institutional investors.

Reliance Communications' net profit declined 76.8% to Rs 264.52 crore on 2.3% decline in net sales to Rs 3001.82 crore in Q4 March 2010 over Q4 March 2009.