Russia-based telecom service provider Sistema JSFC has bought 10 per cent stake in Shyam Telelink for $11.4 million. According to the deal, Sistema will pick up another 41 per cent stake in Shyam Telelink in the near future. It has the option to further increase its stake up to a maximum of 74 per cent after obtaining approval from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board.
The Russian company had earlier tried to pick up 49 per cent stake in Aircel. Shyam Telelink, which offers basic telephony services in the Rajasthan circle, has applied for unified access service licences to provide services in the remaining 22 circles.
According to sources, the company will need to make an investment of at least Rs 300 billion to set up a greenfield cellular network across the country.
