RCom, Ericsson reach settlement on outstanding dues

Reuters  |  NEW DELHI 

By Suhail Hassan and Prusty

An Indian appeals tribunal in put on hold insolvency proceedings against RCom as part of the settlement and asked it to pay 5.5 billion rupees ($81.5 million) by the end of September.

The settlement potentially paves the way for the Anil Ambani-controlled to sell its including mobile masts and airwaves to in a deal sources have said is worth $3.8 billion.

Jio is the telecom venture of Reliance Industries, controlled by Ambani's brother and India's richest man

The (NCLAT) also asked RCom and to file an affidavit by June 7 stating that the two companies will abide by the settlement.

RCom had filed an appeal with the NCLAT after Law Tribunal earlier this month admitted an insolvency plea against the company filed by Ericsson.

Ericsson, which signed a seven-year deal in 2014 to operate and manage RCom's nationwide telecom network, was seeking 11.55 billion rupees from the company and two of its subsidiaries.

On Tuesday, RCom said its unit had reached a settlement with its minority shareholders in relation to the sale of its tower and fiber assets.

With debt of 457.33 billion rupees at the end of March 2017, RCom is the most-leveraged listed in

Like other established Indian telecoms firms, RCom has been hit by a fierce price war over the last year, especially after the entry of Reliance Jio, which offered free voice and cut-price data plans. It shut its mobile operations late last year.

($1 = 67.4650 Indian rupees)

(Reporting by Suhail Hassan and Prusty in New Delhi; Writing by Sankalp Phartiyal; Editing by and Mark Potter)

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Wed, May 30 2018. 17:26 IST