RCom, Aircel to pare debt to Rs 20,000 cr ahead of merger
The three-way merger between Reliance Communications (RCom), Aircel and MTS (brand of Sistema Shyam) is on course to create a formidable company, with best-in-class spectrum and reasonably strong financials. Even as the entities have written to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for approval, both RCom and Aircel are working on lowering their debt, which they have agreed to cap in the new entity at Rs 20,000 crore.Sistema Shyam has agreed to settle its liabilities ahead of the merger with RCom. After the sale of its tower and fibre assets, RCom’s debt is expected to come down to Rs 10,000 crore, which will be transferred to the merged entity. Aircel, too, is planning to bring down its debt to Rs 10,000 crore from the present Rs 26,000 crore. Sistema Shyam will also pay off its Rs 4,153 crore debt. Experts said the company would have found it difficult to incur capital expenditure if the debt of the combined entity remained elevated. Emailed questionnaires to ...