Thursday, March 9 2006 17:38 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A day after selling equity to Singapore-based Temasek Holding, Tata Teleservices today (Mar 09 2006) offloaded another 8 per cent equity in favour of Sterling Infotech owned by C Sivasankaran, presumably for about Rs 1,200 crore.

Temasek had picked up 9.9 per cent stake in the closely held Tata Teleservices for about Rs 1,500 crore, company sources had said.

When contacted, the spokesperson confirmed the deal but declined to give financial details.

The funds raised from these two deals, 9.9 per cent to Temasek and 8 per cent to Sivasankaran, would be to the tune of Rs 2,600 crore and these would be deployed in the expansion of network of the company, which has pan-India presence.

Tata Teleservices offers both fixed line and mobile services, based on CDMA technology, along with other group company Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), which offers long distance services and leased line.

Talks to domestic or overseas investors

Asked whether the Group was talking to other domestic or overseas investors for offloading more equity, sources indicated that there was no such plan any more.

Temasek Holdings Pvt. Limited has acquired the stake through its wholly owned subsidiary, Aranda Investments (Mauritius) Pvt. Limited.

Immediately after the Temasek deal, Darryl Green, CEO of TTSL had said: "TTSL is already one of the large telecom companies in the world. This investment not only reaffirms investor interest in India's telecom sector but underlines confidence in TTSL's growth plans and aspirations to achieve market leadership."

Asked whether TTSL would now go public with an Initial Public Offer (IPO) in the near future, the company refused to comment on the issue.

Earlier, the company also held discussions with the Korea Telecom for placement of about 26 per cent of equity but the deal could not materialise due to differences in the valuation.