Spice Televentures, Spice Mobiles to merge from 1 January 2010

Spice Televentures Pvt Ltd (STPL), the mobile technology vertical of the Spice Group, and Spice Mobiles Ltd announced today that they have agreed to merge into a single entity. The respective boards of Spice Televentures and Spice Mobiles Ltd met to approve and recommend the merger of the two companies.

The appointed date for amalgamation has been fixed as 1st January 2010, and is subject to requisite shareholders, regulatory and High Court approvals. The new merged entity is proposed to be called Spice Mobility Ltd pending requisite approvals.

Post the merger, STPL's business interests in VAS (Spice Digital), Retail (Spice Retail) and Apps (Spice Labs) will become subsidiaries and interests of the new entity, Spice Mobility Ltd.

The boards of both companies have proposed a major restructuring post-merger led by the constitution of strong board that is proposed to comprise of B K Modi as chairman, Dilip Modi as vice chairman and managing director, Divya Modi as finance director and Preeti Malhotra as director and company secretary.

The names of independent directors have been also been proposed for appointment including former SEBI chairman D R Mehta, chairman emeritus-ITC, K L Chugh, chairman emeritus-E&Y India, K N Memani and former MD and CEO RPG Entertainment, Subroto Chattopadhyay.

''The merger of Spice Televentures and Spice Mobiles will create one of the largest listed mobile technology companies in India," said B K Modi, chairman, STPL.