Vodafone likely to submit a bid for Hutch mid of next month

UK based mobile service provider Vodafone is likely to submit its bid for the stake of Hutchison in Indian company Hutch next month.

Vodafone CEO Arun Sarin said in a statement on their plans: “We will make a bid by the second week of February. We are doing due diligence.”

Vodafone said that they are currently studying the books of Hutch-Essar and they are very much interested in getting a share of this emerging market.

Sarin also has met Airtel’s head Sunil Mittal. Vodafone already holds a 9.9% stake in Bharti Airtel. Sunil Mittal has said in the past that he is ok with the idea of Vodafone selling their stake if they manage to buy Hutchison’s stake in Hutch.

Vodafone face serious competition in their quest of acquiring the stake in Hutch. Other interested parties are Reliance Communications, Maxis Communications and the Hinduja Group.