Vodafone to not pay a premium for Hutchison’s stake in Hutch

UK based mobile service provider Vodafone Group Plc has said that they are not going to pay “over the top” for the Hutchison’s stake in Hutch.

The company just managed to beat forecasts for customer sign-ups and crossed the 200 million user mark.

Chief Executive Arun Sarin said that the final decision in their battle for gaining a majority stake in Hutch is still sometime away.

There are at least four companies interested in Hutchison’s stake in Indian mobile service provider Hutch. Reliance, Hinduja Group, Essar and Vodafone have all shown their interests.

Sarin said in a statement on this battle: “(This asset is) very strategically aligned with what we have been saying to shareholders … We will participate fully, but we are not going to go over the top. We have twin financial criteria (for acquisitions), which we have highlighted. We will be using these criteria in determining what the ceiling price is.”