Akhir 26, 1432, March 31, 2011, SPA-- British mobile phone giant Vodafone Group Plc Thursday announced it was buying out its Indian partner Essar Group's stake in their Indian joint venture for 5 billion dollars, according to dpa Vodafone said it was acquiring Essar's 33-per-cent stake in Vodafone Essar Limited, taking its stake to 75 per cent. The deal will consist of a "total cash payment of 5 billion dollars" to Essar and the "final settlement is anticipated to be no later than November 2011," Vodafone said in a statement. It added that Essar had simply exercised its option to sell its stake in Vodafone Essar. Since India's telecom investment norms allow a foreign company a maximum shareholding of 74 per cent, Vodafone will either have to offload the extra 1 per cent or look for another domestic partner. Vodafone entered the Indian market in 2007, when it bought a majority stake in Hutchison Essar, then operator of the Essar Group, for 10.7 billion dollars. Vodafone Essar is India's third-largest mobile company by number of subscribers with over 130 million customers.
