Friday, February 4 2005 15:09 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Chennai: Aircel Televentures Ltd, a cellphone service provider in Tamil Nadu and Chennai telecom circles, today (Feb 04, 2005) said that it was evaluating various offers from Indian and overseas telecoms including a Russian firm to buy 49 per cent stake in the company.

Aircel Televentures, controlled by NRI businessman C Sivasankaran, has received a "non-binding offer" from AFK Sistema to buy 49 per cent stake in the Indian company for a consideration of $ 450 million, a spokesman of the company said in Chennai.

He, however, clarified that Aircel was also evaluating other offers from other Indian and overseas telecom firms on sell the stake.

After the Government hiked the FDI in telecom to 74 per cent early this week, Aircel Televentures was also re-evaluating the strategy, he said. "We have not decided on the strategy in the wake of the hike in FDI limit in telecom to 74 per cent," he said.

"We received the offer to buy 49 per cent stake as this was the limit prescribed the law for foreign players," he said.

Hutchison Telecommunication International Ltd, had, last year, announced that it was buying Aircel's cellular operations. However, the deal's exclusivity was over in November, allowing the company to talk with other interested parties for selling the stake.

The Aircel spokesman clarified that the company could also start fresh talks with Hutchison and the deal cannot be considered "dead".