Slaughter and May is advising Reliance Communications on the largest-ever consolidation in the Indian telecom sector

Slaughter and May is advising Reliance Communications (RCOM) on its transaction with Maxis Communications Berhad (MCB) to combine RCOM’s Indian wireless business with Aircel.

The transaction is the largest-ever consolidation in the Indian telecom sector and will create an operator clearly ranked in the top 4 operators in India by customer base and revenues. The merged company will have combined assets of $9.7 billion (INR 65,000 crore) and net worth of $5.2 billion (INR 35,000 crore). 

RCOM and MCB will each hold 50% of the merged company with equal board and committee representation.

The transaction, which is subject to applicable approvals, will be implemented by way of a court-approved process of demerger.

Slaughter and May is advising RCOM alongside JSA (J. Sagar Associates) whose team, led by Sandeep Mehta, provided Indian law advice to RCOM.