Malaysia's Maxis Bhd. may invest up to US$1.1 billion in its debt-ridden Indian telecom unit Aircel Ltd, The Economic Times of India reported, citing people aware of the matter.
Aircel's lenders are reviewing plans to restructure the company's 155 billion Indian rupees debt. The company has so far serviced debt worth 130 billion rupees.
The investment could range from US$500 million to US$1.1 billion, depending on the company's final debt-resolution plan to fund CapEx and even buy back key tower infrastructure, people close to developments told The Economic Times.
Aircel is looking for buyers and recently sold its 4G airwaves to Bharti Airtel Ltd. in anticipation of a merger with Reliance Communications Ltd. However, the merger was called off due to a delay in required regulatory approvals.
A person close to Aircel said the company is in advanced talks with Airtel to sign a network-sharing or intracircle roaming deal.
The move comes as the Maxis-Aircel deal continues to be under the lens of Indian investigative agencies. Maxis has reportedly invested nearly US$7 billion in Aircel over the past 10 years.
As of Dec. 15, US$1 was equivalent to 64.09 Indian rupees.
