Telekom Malaysia is reportedly set to buy out the stakes of Ashmore Investments and Deutsche Bank in Spice Telecom, with the Modis retaining 51 per cent controlling interest for now. The deal is expected to be signed in Kuala Lumpur soon. Spice carries a debt burden of around $200 million. With the company’s net valuation pegged at roughly $400 million, the cash transaction for the two exiting stakeholders is expected to be around $200 million. Spice Telecom operates in Punjab and Karnataka circles and has 1.7 million subscribers. Ashmore and Deutsche Bank had picked up the strategic stake held by the Singapore-based Distacom in Spice, following the latter’s decision to exit the market. According to industry sources, Maxis too was among the other foreign players in the race for the Spice stake.
