Japanese conglomerate SoftBank today denied being in discussions to participate in the proposed Vodafone-Idea Cellular merger and termed the reports as "baseless and unsubstantiated".
"We would like to categorically deny SoftBank's participation in the alleged Vodafone-Idea Cellular merger in India. We underline that we have held no such discussions and media reports about the same are baseless and unsubstantiated," Softbank said in an emailed statement.
The statement comes against the backdrop of reports that suggested that SoftBank was in talks for picking up stake in Vodafone India, which is engaged in discussions for a potential merger with Aditya Birla group firm Idea Cellular.
Interestingly, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son had bought Vodafone's unit in Japan in 2006 to challenge local firms like NTT Docomo and KDDI Corp.
SoftBank has committed to investing USD 10 billion over the next few years in the Indian market. It has already invested in Indian startups like cab hailing platform Ola, e-commerce firm Snapdeal, budget hotel aggregator Oyo, and on-demand grocery firm Grofers.
In the earning statement for six months ended September 30, SoftBank also had to write off 58.14 billion yen in the value of shares in its investments in India.
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