Vodafone's India operations to merge with Idea Cellular in two years

Mumbai: Vodafone India will merge with Idea Cellular within two years, making the merged entity the largest telecom operator in India with 400 million customer base and 35 per cent market share. Vodafone will own 45.1 per cent of the merged entity after a consideration of US$ 592.15 million is paid in cash for transferring about 4.9 per cent to promoters of Idea or its affiliates. The companies expect cost and capex synergies to yield US$ 10 billion in present value terms post integration costs and payments towards spectrum.