Tata Teleservices to look for options

The loss making unit of Tata Group , Tata Tele Services is considering to close down the mobile services business. Chairman N Chandrasekharan is evaluating various and best possible options by having discussions with other telecom companies to sell its stake in the telecom venture, but nothing concrete has materialised. If the group goes ahead with its plan, it will be the first major Tata unit to be closed down in its 149-year-old history.

Tata Group is looking to shed non-core and loss-making business to focus on core business as it is sitting on a debt of USD 25 billion and Tata teleservices has 4 percent market share of Indian mobile telecom market and has 45 million mobile subscribers and the parent company Tata Sons, has made efforts to turn around Tata Tele by deciding to infuse Rs 12,000 crore recently after it had invested Rs 2,000 crore in the financial year 2016-17. The company can reduce its debt by selling telecom spectrum.

If the telecom operations to suspend, then Tata Sons to take the hit on its balance sheet as Tata Tele has a consolidated debt of over Rs 34,000 cr. Sources added.
Under former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry, the company was engaged in advanced discussions for a potential sale with Vodafone, which fell through over valuation differences.

The reason of mobile services business impacted Tata Sons' financials in fiscal 2017 with profits declining 72% to Rs 832 crore. The holding company of the Tata Group took a hit of Rs 4,000 crore on account of DoCoMo exercising its sale option in Tata Teleservices. Now, Chandrasekaran to take the call on how to the corrective measures towards troubled units like Tata Steel UK, Mundra power plant and the Pierre Hotel in the US and including this Tata Tele Services.

Tags: tata, Tata Teleservices, tata mobile services business, chairman n chandrasekharan, tata group, n chandrasekharan, varindia, Indian mobile telecom market