In what could be a major roadblock to the RCOM-MTN deal, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has claimed the right of first refusal in case of a sale of RCOM, based on a non-compete agreement signed by Reliance Communications Ventures Limited (now RCOM) a

In what could be a major roadblock to the RCOM-MTN deal, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has claimed the right of first refusal in case of a sale of RCOM, based on a non-compete agreement signed by Reliance Communications Ventures Limited (now RCOM) and RIL in January 2006. The Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has, however, challenged RIL’s claim, saying that the companies that had signed the agreement were under Mukesh Ambani’s control at the time.

Its view is that RIL does not really want to buy out the company and is only attempting to disrupt talks. Meanwhile, MTN is continuing its negotiations with RCOM as per their 45-day exclusive talks’ agreement. A company team is currently in Mumbai to carry out due diligence on RCOM.