HTIL continues to be wooed

Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd has received three bids and an expression of interest from a fourth player for its stake in the Indian mobile joint venture Hutch-Essar. CNBC-TV18 reports.

Though no official confirmation could be obtained from any of those in the fray, the Hong Kong-based Hutchison Telecommunications International Ltd has said that it was holding talks with various for the sale of its 67-per cent stake in the India-based joint venture, Hutch-Essar.

The channel reported that bids for HTIL's 67-per cent stake in Hutch-Essar were received from British telecom giant Vodafone, India's Reliance Communications and Malaysia''s Maxis Communications, besides an expression of interest from Qatar Telecom.

Hutchison Telecommunications has hired investment banker Goldman Sachs for the sale, which is expected to fetch an enterprise value of about $16-$18 billion, the sdame range in which the offers have been made by the potential acquirers.

Ever since Vodafone made its intent to bid for HTIL's stake public, speculation has been rife about the timing and size of the bid, with some suggesting that the deadline for submitting the bid was at 1800 hrs GMT yesterday, which passed without any official confirmation.