IDEA call drops in a block deal

Shares of Idea Cellular, the second largest telecom giant dropped almost 10 per cent amid a block deal on Friday. Nearly about 3.7 per cent of equity i.e. Rs 1400 crore worth shares changed hands in a block deal in which the buyers and sellers are yet unknown.

Shares of Bharti Airtel too dropped 1.7 per cent while Infratel recovered after a drop.

Late evening on Thursday, a private equity firm Providence Equity Partners through its investment subsidiary P5 Asia Investment (Mauritius) had decided to sell half of its stake i.e. 3.7 per cent (Rs 1400 crore) in Idea at a discount of nearly 6 per cent from the previous close of Rs 118.5.

Meanwhile the mobile phone operators countered the call drop report submitted by the telecom regulatory. The findings of TRAI were held misleading as the call drop tests were conducted in less than 2 per cent of the entire telecom service area. To add to it the problems put forth by TRAI may not be resolved by imposing penalties but through a partnership with the government bodies to fasten the approvals of cell sites.

TRAI had also accused telcos of not investing sufficient amount in networks. But carriers opposed stating that municipal authorities had refused approvals of setting up sites near residential areas. Despite of that telcos had already invested around 8.5 lakh crore in the same.

Idea deals in two business segments, including mobility services like GSM based 2G and 3G mobile services and international long distance services. The company offers voice, data, wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi) services and other value added services (VAS).