Shares of Reliance Communications tumbled as much as 7.8 per cent in early trade on Tuesday to an all-time low after the company scrapped a proposed merger of its wireless arm with rival Aircel, raising doubts about a debt-reduction plan.

RCom shares were trading at Rs 17.90, down 6.77 per cent, at 10.05 am, after dropping to a low of Rs 17.70.

Reliance Communications (RCom) and Aircel have called off talks to merge their mobile operations due to regulatory and legal hurdles. This casts doubts over the operators’ future as the merger was seen as vital for their survival in the competitive telecom sector.

RCom and Aircel had signed binding agreements in September 2016 for the merger of Reliance’s mobile businesses with Aircel.