The chairman of India’s Reliance Communications is reportedly planning to buy more than a 40 percent stake in MTN, the South African-based mobile group. Reliance entered into exclusive merger talks with MTN in May but it was assumed that Reliance was seeking only a 34.9 percent stake – the threshold at which Reliance would be obliged under South African law to make an offer to buy out MTN’s remaining shareholders if it went higher. However, in an interview with the Financial Times, Reliance chairman Anil Ambani said he was looking at how he could maximise an “in-effect controlling position” in MTN by seeking to persuade its shareholders to waive their right to a tender offer. If the shareholders back his plan, Reliance would be able to acquire as much as 45 percent of the company, the report claims. Reliance began 45 days of exclusive talks with MTN on May 26 but reports suggest that a conclusion has yet to be reached. Under the new plan, Ambani would swap most of his 66 percent holding in Reliance for a near-controlling stake in the enlarged group, making Reliance a subsidiary of MTN. The merger has also been complicated by a feud between Ambani and his brother, Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries, who has reportedly threatened to block the sale of a controlling stake in Reliance Communications to a third-party.

Meanwhile, rival Indian mobile operator Bharti told Dow Jones Newswire this week that it is still looking at making acquisitions in the Middle East and Africa despite its earlier failed attempt to acquire MTN. “We are open to overseas acquisitions. We haven’t changed our approach,” said Akhil Gupta, group managing director of holding company Bharti Enterprises. “It [the acquisition] could be large, it could be medium. It is about the opportunity.” He added that the company would aim to replicate its “low-tariff, high volume” business model already used in India in any potential international acquisition. The company has previously been linked to an international MVNO strategy, with reports suggesting it would look only at small acquisitions where the risk factors are lower.