While there have been reports suggesting a joint venture between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular instead of a mere merger, the Vodafone Group CEO has now confirmed the same.
Vodafone Group CEO Vittorio Colao apprised the senior executives at Vodafone India that the combined entity with Idea Cellular would truly be a co-managed company. While the possible ownership structure of the proposed joint-venture between Vodafone India and Idea Cellular was not yet revealed, the executive mentioned that a chief executive would be named a few months before the conclusion of the merger.
While there are already reports suggesting that Vodafone Group and Aditya Birla Group is expected to sign an agreement before the end of March, Colao revealed that the merger could take 12-15 months to complete as it requires clearances from the telecom department, Competition Commission of India and three courts.