India: Price war drives Vodafone merger

Vodafone said Monday that it would merge its Indian business with a local rival, a move that would create India’s largest wireless company and could strengthen the British telecommunication giant’s standing in a cutthroat market.

Vodafone and Idea Cellular, which are respectively India’s No. 2 and No. 3 mobile operators, would overtake Bharti Airtel as the country’s leading carrier. The two sides said in January that they were exploring a merger.

In a news conference in Mumbai, Vodafone Chief Executive Officer Vittorio Colao and Aditya Birla Group Chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla said the merger would create a new champion of digital India. It would launch new services soon.

Full Content: BBC News

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