Talks regarding the acquisition of the 36 per cent stake held by Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited’s (HFCL) Mahendra Nahata in Datacom, by Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot, have failed.

Talks regarding the acquisition of the 36 per cent stake held by Himachal Futuristic Communications Limited’s (HFCL) Mahendra Nahata in Datacom, by Videocon promoter Venugopal Dhoot, have failed. The key issue was a disagreement over the valuation of Datacom, Videocon’s telecommunications arm. The Videocon Group was willing to offer Rs 13.6 billion but Nahata asked for Rs 21.16 billion for offloading his stake. Nahata also reportedly sent a communication to both the State Bank of India (SBI) and Datacom’s auditors, alleging that Videocon had passed off a Rs 10 billion loan from SBI as its own contribution to Datacom’s equity, violating banking and company law norms.

Meanwhile, Etisalat, which had been in talks with Videocon for buying a stake in Datacom, has also withdrawn its proposal. The UAE-based telecommunications company has now started negotiations with Swan Telecommunications which has a panIndian presence.