Aditya Birla Group mulls stake sale in Idea Cellular

The controlling shareholder of Idea Cellular, Aditya Birla Group, is mulling a sale of its stake in the mobile carrier and has held talks with potential bidders including MTN Group, Bloomberg reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Talks between Aditya Birla Group, which owns a 47 percent stake in Idea, and South Africa's MTN are at an early stage and may not result in a transaction, Bloomberg reported the sources as saying. The sources declined to be identified because the information is private.

Malaysia's Axiata Group Bhd owns a 19 percent stake in Idea.

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Idea's market capitalisation is about $5 billion and Aditya Birla Group's stake is valued at about $2.35 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Any deal with MTN would likely involve a mix of cash and shares, one of the sources told the agency.

A spokeswoman for the Aditya Birla Group in Mumbai denied that the firm was in talks to sell the stake, while MTN declined to comment, Bloomberg reported.

Axiata, Malaysia's second-largest mobile phone operator, reported a quarterly loss in February after writing down its investment in India and warned of more challenges ahead as competition intensifies.

Aditya Birla Group mulls stake sale in Idea Cellular - Report