The Economics Times said that Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries is conducting “advanced due diligence” on mobile operator Aircel, with the intention of taking a controlling stake in the business. Apparently, Reliance has conducted “at least three rounds” of investigations, although Aircel told the paper that it is a “baseless rumour and a mere speculative report.” Aircel, which is India’s seventh biggest operator, has almost 61 million subscribers. It is controlled by Malaysia’s Maxis, which is reported to have held talks with multiple partners as part of a plan to divest its holding in the business.

Reliance Industries was split from mobile operator Reliance Communications in 2005, and has not had a significant presence in the mobile business since. However, last year it acquired a 95 percent stake of Infotel Broadband, the only company to hold a nationwide wireless broadband network in India. There have previously been question marks over the value of Infotel Broadband as a standalone business, leading to speculation that Reliance Industries would seek a telco partner in order to offer a wider range of services. It has also been suggested that Reliance Industries should look to realign with Reliance Communications, although it is not believed that talks have taken place to this end.